Tired of the World
by birdie-98
Summary: All this sadness. All this tragedy. All this danger. All for this little trinket?" -- Alex and Justin must figure out a way to stop an evil wizard and get their family back before the world as they know it disappears. Summary suckage, I know.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own Wizards of Waverly Place. Boo :[

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_Hey Russo. Can't wait to see you tonight. Wear something special for me ;)_

Alex snapped her phone shut, half amused at the suggestive nature of Dean's text. He usually wasn't so forward, but she embraced it since she was feeling an extra surge of rebellion in her tonight.

Setting her phone on her nightstand, Alex drifted over to her closet to find that something "special". After tossing what seemed like fifty outfits over her shoulder, she finally settled on a black mini skirt that clung to her slender thighs and a purple corset-fashioned tank top that complimented her tanned shoulders and revealed the majority of her back. Alex didn't do heels, so she wiggled into her favorite pair of black high-top converse sneakers.

Glancing at the clock, Alex saw she was running late. With a snap of her fingers, Alex's hair was complete with beach waves, and her makeup was rockin'. She slipped out of her room and peeked down the stairs to see her mother doing the dishes and her father and younger brother, Max watching a sports game in the living room.

_Crap! Mom and Dad are never gonna let me out looking like this…_

With a mischievous smile she went back to her room, grabbed her wand and said:

**To help me with my devious lies**

**Dress me up in a perfect disguise!**

Alex looked in the mirror and saw her appearance was normal. She was "wearing" simple jeans, a light purple long-sleeved shirt, and regular tennis shoes. Her makeup was gone save for a little mascara, and her hair was secured into a low ponytail. Grinning to herself, she grabbed her purse and headed down the stairs.

Theresa looked up from the dishes, surprised, "Alex, it's almost 9:00, where do you think you're going?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm going to see a movie with Harper tonight!" Alex lied with ease.

Her mother scrunched her eyes in confusion, trying to remember if what her daughter said was true. After ten seconds she gave up. "Alright sweetie, have a good time, remember curfew is midnight."

"Bye Dad, bye Max!" Alex called innocently on her way out of the door. They mumbled something incoherent in return, eyes still glued on the screen.

Prancing down to their family's sub shop while humming some obnoxious rock song, Alex caught sight of her older brother, Justin. He was sweeping up the station and placing chairs up on the tables. She snickered at the sight; glad she didn't have to do the work.

Alex was about to head out the door when she caught her reflection in the toaster. She imagined her original outfit again, and realized she had no necklace to go with. She looked back up the stairs with a sigh, not wanting to go all that way just for a necklace.

Then she remembered her golden heart locket she left in the lair after magic lessons the other day. Relieved at the reduced amount of walking, Alex strolled into the lair, searching around the couch for her trinket. After five minutes of searching, Alex's patience was wearing thin and her frustration was growing. She scanned her eyes around the lair and spotted a chestnut box partially hidden behind some spell books.

She wandered and after removing the books, heavy with dust, stroked the box gingerly. It looked so old, so frail. Holding her breath and praying it wouldn't crumble to pieces, Alex slowly lifted the top of the box and peered inside.

The inside of the box was lined in a faded pink felt, with an elaborate swirl-stitching pattern woven throughout. It had no shelves or pockets. The bottom was littered with broaches, pins, and other jewelry. Alex picked a rather overwhelming broach and held it up to the light.

"Dad has horrible taste in jewelry," she chuckled at herself. She placed the broach back into the box and started fingering through the delicate metal, looking for her locket. She saw a glint of gold and smiled. _Finally!_ She thought. When she removed the heart-shaped necklace, another glint caught her eye. Underneath Alex's locket was another necklace, one with a silver chain. The jewel that it held was breathtaking. It was shaped into a tiny amethyst teardrop, and was surrounded by a thick border of diamonds.

Alex recognized it as her grandmother's pendant. She held the necklace loosely in her fingers, and closed her eyes in memory:

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8-year-old Alex's eyes shone with excitement. "It's so pretty, Grandma!"

Her grandmother smiled warmly and replied, "Yes, it is. And one day soon, it will be yours!"

8-year-old Alex grinned in anticipation_._

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_

10-year-old Alex was stomping around the kitchen, having a tantrum. "Daddy, why can't I wear it? Grandma said it was mine!" Alex's lips jutted out into a pout.

Jerry sighed and explained, "Because you still can't control your powers, honey! You can never _ever_ use magic when you wear this, it's very dangerous!"

10-year-old Alex rolled her eyes and retorted, "It's not dangerous, it's just a necklace Daddy!"

Jerry chuckled at his daughter's "logic" but pressed on. "Yes but it has a secret, and bad people will do anything to get it. So no putting it on, ok?"

Alex pouted again, the one that usually got her anything she wanted, but said in a small voice, "Ok…"

Jerry smiled and held out his pinky for her, "Pinky promise?"

Alex finally gave in and returned with a grin. "Pinky promise."

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Present day Alex looked over the necklace once more, only hesitating for a split second before clasping it around her neck. _Eh, what the heck? It matches. Dad probably just told me that so I couldn't lose it…_

She sashayed out of the lair, and checked the necklace in the toaster reflection. "Perfect!" she whispered.

"What?" Justin had appeared over her shoulder. "What did you say?"

Alex spun around and glared at her brother. "I wasn't talking to you, Sir Sweeps-a-lot."

Justin glared right back. "Where are you going this late?"

Alex scoffed. "Like I'd really tell you…" Justin gave her a look that plainly said "I will go get Mom". She rolled her eyes in retort.

"Gosh Justin, I'm just going to see a movie with Harper, Mom and Dad already know. Can't you tell by my normal outfit?" she asked as she looked away innocently, gesturing at her clothes.

Justin's eyes narrowed, then softened. "Just be home on time, okay? And please be careful." His green eyes bled into her chocolate eyes, with… was that.. concern?

Alex's eyes widened in shock as she realized that her brother had seen right through her lie, but quickly covered with a flip of her hair.

"Whatever, Justin. Have fun staying home with the fam and your pathetic excuse for a social life…" And with that, she was out the door.

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A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first fanfic ever and I would LOVE if people would review it and tell me what you think. Loved it? Hated it? Made you want to eat cookies? (That's what happens with me) I would really appreciate any feedback. So a few things:

1. This is not necessarily a Jalex fanfic. I do absolutely adore their relationship, but as a brother/sister, and I will be writing a LOT of interactions between them.

2. I tend to get writer's block a LOT. I will try to update every few days or so, but I apologize in advance if I get a little behind :[

3. I know what I wrote in the summary and what will be written in the next few chapters don't match, but I promise the story WILL get to what the summary talks about!

4. Enjoy! :D


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you Bumblebeefan, for being my first reviewer. It totally made my day! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own WOWP, oh crappy day :[

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Justin sighed as he watched his sister leave.

_What is her problem? The one time I'm nice to her and she just- Gah! I'm trying to look out for her! I know she's not going to a movie with Harper… Whatever, it's not my problem anymore…_

Justin slammed the last chair upside down on the sub station table's, threw off his apron in a huff, and climbed the stairs to home where he could do something comforting and relaxing, like homework.

With a brief hello to his parents, Justin didn't stop until he'd reached his bedroom, and shut the door behind him. He fell onto his bed in frustration. He couldn't explain it, but he just kept feeling worry in the pit of his stomach; worry for Alex.

_What is wrong with me? She does this kind of stuff all the time. I've never worried about her this much…_

Shaking his head free of thoughts concerning Alex, Justin flipped open his AP biology book and started on his homework, hoping it would be enough to distract him.

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Meanwhile at the party, Alex was having a blast. She had gotten rid of her disguise a block away from the house, and now felt more confident. The second she walked in the music was blaring and a cup full of some sort of alcohol was pushed into her hands. Although she rarely drank, (her parents would be able to tell, even the next morning) Justin's words of warning floated to her head.

_"Just be home on time, okay? And please be careful…"_

Alex hated being told what to do, even if it was her dorky older brother making sure she was alright. She downed the alcohol in one gulp, her throat catching on fire. But the people around her cheered and she grinned in return.

She waded through the throng of rebellious teenagers, searching for Dean. She turned quite a few heads in the process, and smiled inwardly. She loved to be the center of attention, even if it meant a few girls would be annoyed with her the next Monday at school. Alex found Dean in the kitchen, playing beer pong. His cups were almost all empty, which meant he was losing and probably very drunk. She came up behind him and his opponents on the other side of the table all whistled and fanned themselves in mock heat.

Dean turned around; a goofy grin plastered on his face, and caught sight of Alex. His jaw dropped and he looked her up and down, almost in an animal way. She planted a kiss on Dean's lips and said playfully, "Hey, loser. What's with these empty cups?"

He looked back at his cups and replied, "Oh like you could do better?" He held up a ping-pong ball and refilled the cups.

"You know it," Alex grinned in response, gladly accepting the challenge.

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It was close to 11:30, and Justin had run out of things to do to ignore his worry. Even though she was still a half hour away from curfew, Justin couldn't help but pace the living room floor and glancing at the door every few seconds.

Everyone else had gone to bed, but Justin couldn't seem to drift off. He willed his eyes shut and tried to think of relaxing things. Sunsets, hot cocoa, baths, math quizzes… Nothing worked. So there he was in his living room, biting his nails and pacing like a caged animal. He tried to sit down on the couch but after three minutes he couldn't stop his leg from bouncing and his heart from racing. He just felt like something bad was going to happen tonight.

Flipping on the TV, Justin felt more at ease. The constant background noise was comforting and even distracted his thoughts. _Okay_, he thought, _I can do this until Alex gets home. Everything is going to be fine._

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Two hours and five beers later, Alex was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol. She didn't care that she had a half hour to get home, her head was swimming, , the room was spinning, and Dean was leading her to the dance floor. She stumbled after him, giggling at herself.

She didn't recognize the music, but the beat was so strong and she felt herself naturally sway along with it. Dean came up behind her and grabbed her waist. He pulled her close to his body, which was radiating heat. She could feel his moist shirt against her back as he rocked with her. His head was bowed into the hollow space between her shoulder and neck and he gradually got rougher and dirtier with his dancing.

_Whoa, this is a little much_, Alex thought. When she tried to pull away, Dean secured her into his hands and began to kiss her neck quickly. She reciprocated since it had stopped him from grating against her. The alcohol and the kissing were all getting mixed up in her head, and she didn't even realize what was happening when Dean was pulling her from the crowd toward the stairs that led to the basement.

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Justin had finally drifted off to sleep ten minutes after he turned on the TV. He awoke though, when his cell phone was vibrating next to his ear. He sat up and rushed to Alex's room, peeking inside. Empty.

He went back downstairs and glanced at the clock: 12:14. Justin groaned. Passing a hand over his face he went back to the couch to check his phone. Maybe it's from Alex! He quickly fumbled getting the phone open to check the message. It was not from Alex, but his best friend Zeke:

**Dude, Alex is at Stacy's party. Dean has been texting everyone saying he's gonna nail her tonight once she's wasted. You'd better tell your parents.**

Justin closed his phone, hands shaking. His immediate thought was to run to the house and get his sister out of there. He was about to spring to the door when he thought, _Wait, what if Alex wants to… She'd never forgive me if I went there and dragged her home._

He looked back at Zeke's text: "…once she's wasted." He snapped.

_That jerk is going to take advantage of her..._ He growled in his head. Shoving his phone in his pocket and grabbing his car keys, Justin was out the door and headed to get his baby sister.

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Dean was tripping down the stairs as he pulled Alex along with him. Both teenagers were laughing their heads off like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.

"Where are we going? The upstairs is party, silly!" Alex slurred while she laughed.

Dean chuckled and replied mischievously, "I thought we would have our own party down here."

Alex looked around. They were at the bottom of the steps and through the door, which Dean closed behind them. It was dark and cluttered, like a basement should be. The walls were concrete, and the floor was some sort of cheap tile. She turned her eyes back to Dean who approached her like a predator. Big flashing signs of warning passed through Alex's brain, but the lingering remains of alcohol swept them away. She could barely hear the music anymore; it was so muffled by the deepness of the basement. Watching Dean creeping closer to her she unconsciously stepped backwards.

"What's wrong?" Dean hesitated and asked with a look of fabricated innocence in his eyes.

"I- uh… Actually I'd better be getting home, it's past my curfew…" Alex avoided Dean's eyes.

"Okay sure, just let me get my keys and we'll go." Dean replied a little too quickly.

"No, no it's alright, you're drunk and I'm just a few blocks away, I can walk." Alex smiled in return.

"Well, do I get a goodbye kiss?" Dean asked with a little pout.

Alex chuckled in relief and said, "If you must."

Dean pulled her close, his eyes once again filled with hunger. Alex meant the kiss to be a short and sweet, but after five seconds it was clear that's not what Dean had in mind. His hands her groping her back, and his lips were reaching every corner of her mouth. He shoved his tongue furiously into her mouth, suffocating her. It was when he subtly started to move his hand up Alex's thigh, into her skirt that she broke off. Drunk or not, she knew this wasn't right.

"Whoa okay, that's enough. I really have to go now." Alex mumbled as she headed for the door. Before she could put her hand on the knob, two arms shot out from either side of her, thudding into the door. She spun around and saw anger in Dean's eyes.

"What are y-" she started to ask, when Dean cut her off.

"Russo you bad girl, don't you want this?" He leaned in to kiss her again, but she turned away.

"What is wrong with you? Move!" she whispered frantically, unable to strengthen the volume of her voice. The flashing warning signs in her brain were flooding back to her. She shoved him as hard as she could, but he barely moved an inch.

Dean yelled back at her, "You can't come waltzing in looking like that and just walk away!"

Defiance surged through Alex. "Excuse me? I can walk away from whatever I want to."

Dean smiled. Not a warm smile but a creepy smile, one that bared his teeth.

"Look Russo, you just think you don't want to. You come in here dressed like a slut, you might as well start acting like one." His hand started to climb up Alex's leg again.

She slapped it off, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "Screw. You."

Dean's smile vanished and he leaned into Alex's ear. His voice hissed, "Right back at ya, baby."

Then his arms flew to hers, pinning them against her body. He pulled her away from the door and slammed her against the opposite wall. She yelped in shock from the impact, but was otherwise frozen. _Oh my god, what's happening, what is he doing?_

Dean chuckled maliciously, "See? I knew you wanted it, you're just gonna lie back and take it, aren't you?"

His words brought movement to Alex's limbs. She began flailing like crazy and managed to slap Dean's face a couple of times, but that hardly slowed him down. When she tried to scream, Dean clapped his hand over her entire mouth, cutting off her air supply. He looked into her frightened eyes with anger and greed as he gripped her face violently making her teeth scrape against her cheeks.

Alex was starting to feel dizzy, but then she was suddenly released. She slid to the floor coughing and sucking up air. She scanned the room, wondering what had happened and her eyes widened at the spectacle before her.

Dean was on the floor, hands held up to his face. A man was hovered over him, one hand tangled in Dean's shirt, the other cocked back and ready to strike. The next few seconds happened in slow motion. The man's fist came down upon Dean's face, making a sickening _crunch!_ as it made contact. Dean's face was instantly stained in the blood pouring out from his nose.

Alex sat up shaking and let out a noise that sounded almost like a whimper. Her savior stiffened and released Dean, immediately rushing towards her. He bent down low and Alex's beautiful brown eyes found soft green ones. _Justin?_

"Hey, I'm right here," he whispered. "Let's get you outta here, okay?"

Her brother leaned into her and raised her up by her armpits. Justin's hands were careful and gentle; they were safer. Now that she was on her feet and being supported by Justin, Alex was aware that Dean was still crumpled on the floor, groaning in pain.

They stepped around him and walked toward the door that led upstairs, arms around each others' waists. When they reached the door, Justin dislodged himself from Alex's grasp and leaned her against the doorway. "Hang on one sec…" he whispered.

Then he swiveled around and went back to Dean's figure on the ground. He crouched down to his level and was mumbling something she couldn't hear. Alex just looked forward and closed her eyes against the concrete wall, trying to focus on breathing and keeping calm.

Justin eased his hand on Alex's shoulder and said, "Okay, let's go home."

"Yes please," was all Alex could say in response.

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Another A/N: Ok so this chapter was kinda hard for me to write, please review and let me know how I did!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Warning, total Justin & Alex fluffy cotton stuff ahead :D But it's intended to be brother/sister love! Sorry it's a short chapter :/

Disclaimer: I don't own anything cool... including WOWP :[

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The car ride home was quiet. No radio, no talk. Justin kept glancing at Alex and she just kept staring out the window. She figured she must look pretty bad because when Justin helped her into the car, every touch was careful. Like he was afraid she would break. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cool window glass, just wanting to sleep.

They pulled in at almost one and Alex got out of the car quickly, eager for Justin to see she could walk herself. She wanted to show him she was still tough, even though she felt anything but. She felt broken and humiliated. Yes, Dean didn't actually succeed in…whatever he was going to do; but he had still shattered her confidence, her faith in herself.

Alex tried to think, "_It'll all be okay tomorrow, I'll be over it and I won't be scared of him. It'll be okay right?_"

Justin led her up the stairs with an arm around her waist. He nudged her towards the bathroom and turned on the shower scalding hot; just how Alex liked it.

"Do you um… need help?" he asked, not quite meeting her eyes but gesturing vaguely towards her clothes.

Alex smirked at her brother. _Wow, I can still smile?_ "No, I think I can handle it."

Justin smiled back at his sister's playfulness. _Wow, she can still smile, even after…_

Then the thought of Dean's hands on Alex entered his mind again and his smile vanished. So did Alex's.

"I'll be in my room when you're done, in case you need me," he said as he walked out of the bathroom.

Justin clicked on the lamp in his room and picked up a book to read while he waited for Alex. He sat on the edge of his bed, not opening his book but instead losing himself in thought. Horrible, terrible thoughts filled his brain. Thoughts of pummeling Dean's face so bad you couldn't even recognize him… thoughts of killing him. He sat like that until Alex came to his room, fantasizing about all the ways Dean would die.

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Alex didn't even wash her hair or her body. She just sat in the tub letting the water cascade over her. It felt nice, like it was washing away her bad decisions. But of course it didn't. Alex's mind kept thinking thoughts of self-blame.

_God, how could I have been so stupid?_

_Why did I even drink in the first place, to be cool?_

_It is my fault, I was dressed like a whore, I was practically begging for it…Maybe I am one._

This entire time, from the car ride home to the steaming shower, Alex had not cried. She refused to. The tears were just waiting to come out though. Even when there was water pouring on her face she didn't cry, although it would have been so easy. Finally, after a good half hour Alex hoisted herself up and turned the handle to stop the flow of water. She stepped out of the tub and shrugged on her favorite cotton robe. Then she collected all of her dirty [whore] clothes and dropped them into her room underneath her covers so she could throw them away later. Slinking past her parents' bedroom, she made her way down the hall to Justin.

She peeked around the corner in his door and saw Justin's figure, back to the door, just sitting on the bed. She watched him for a couple minutes and he never moved. She sighed, alerting him of her presence and he turned around slowly. Wordlessly, he motioned for her to come inside and patted the spot next to him on his bed.

As soon as she sat down the dim light of Justin's lamp illuminated his face. She watched him carefully. He didn't speak for a long while; his eyes were blank like he was in deep thought, his mouth was set in a small frown, and his hands were clenched into fists

He knew she was watching him, but he wasn't ready to talk yet. He could barely move without the urge to throw something heavy across the room. After a couple minutes, Alex sighed and scooted closer to her brother. Her eyes still on his face, she slowly extended her hand to rest on top of his fist. A few seconds of contact and Justin's fist released and let her fingers intertwine with his.

Alex could feel the tears were going to erupt any second. She was strong, but she could only hold out for so long. With all the strength she could muster she whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Justin jerked his head sharply, eyes wide, "What?"

Alex said a fraction louder, "I'm…_so_ sorry. This is all my fault." She couldn't help but plead with her eyes, begging for some sort of mercy from her older brother, the one who had told her to be careful.

Justin's eyes narrowed and whispered back in disbelief, "You're…sorry?"

Alex lost it. Trying to muffle her sobs so her parents wouldn't hear she buried herself in Justin's chest, arms flew around his neck.

"Yes. So sorry. My fault." She choked out between sobs. Justin had wrapped his own arms around her and started to rock back and forth, trying to sooth her, trying not to cry.

"Please don't hate me. Please don't hate me." Alex begged him over and over again.

Justin couldn't hold it in any longer. Her pain and cries were too much for him to bear. His lip quivered and tears spilled out over his closed eyes. He placed his hand against the crown of her head, holding her close to him.

"Never. I could never _ever_ hate you. I love you, Alex," Justin's voice cracked. He pulled his head away to face her. She kept her head bowed down, but he could still see the tears streaming down her cheeks. He took her chin in his fingers and tilted her head up to meet his gaze. The light from his lamp danced across her face. Justin could see up close the bruises that were already forming on Alex's cheeks and mouth. He looked away as a slight hiss escaped his clenched teeth. Justin took a deep breath and turned his face back to Alex's.

She looked at him, eyes red and swollen. Justin whispered, "I'm not mad at you, how could you even think that?"

Alex scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "B- but I lied to mom and dad and you. I went to the party! I got drunk and I practically l-let Dean…" she sputtered. Alex looked down at her knees again, so ashamed of herself.

"Alex," Justin said softly. She didn't look up. "Hey Alex, look at me," he said with more force.

She looked up once again, eyes fresh with tears.

"It is not your fault. What he did to you? Not your fault. Don't ever think that. I'm not going to say you made the best decision in sneaking off to a party and drinking but I'm not mad at you for that. I would've been surprised if you had done anything different." He smirked a little at his comment, trying desperately to lighten the mood, to make her feel better.

"But don't blame yourself for what that piece of shit did to you, okay?" He continued.

Alex giggled. _Justin swore_. She looked at her brother who stared right back at her in bewilderment. That just made Alex laugh. "Wha- why are you laughing?" Justin asked warily.

Alex chuckled, "You swore! I've never heard you say anything like that before. It's a little scary!" she finished with a giggle. Then her face sobered and became serious, "He really made you that mad?"

Justin's fists clenched again. "You could say that. I don't know Alex, when I saw him doing that I- something snapped. I was so angry and so scared that you were- I'm so sorry you saw me like that, I don't want you to be afraid of me." It was Justin's turn to look down, ashamed.

"How did you even find me?" Alex asked out of the blue, realizing she hadn't quite figured out how her brother got to be at the party in the first place.

"Zeke sent me a text telling me. He told me Dean was texting everyone saying- um..." Justin wasn't sure if telling his sister the rest would upset her more.

"Saying what?" Alex pressed.

"Saying he was going to "nail you" once you were drunk…" He winced and waited for more tears to come, but they never did.

"And what did you say to him before we left?" Alex just continued, not letting the previous answer phase her.

Justin's lips twitched, holding back a smile. "I just told him that he would arrange to never talk to or see you again."

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_Back in the basement._

Justin's face slanted down inches away from Dean's. The pathetic wretch was trying to scoot away, but Justin seized his shirt with his fists. His green eyes were wild with fire. Justin had never been so mad in his entire life. And he was going to make sure Dean knew it. He leaned in and whispered:

"Do you know about mummification?" Dean looked up at Justin with swollen eyes.

"When the pharaoh died his servants went through a long process to preserve the body," Justin began to explain. Dean just stared at him thinking, _This freak is giving me a history lesson?_

"It involved cutting out the tongue and removing the brain out through the nose with a long metal rod, among other things. Now if you ever touch, speak to, make eye contact, or otherwise try to see Alex again, I will make damn sure that's what will happen to you. Only, you'll be alive when I do it."

He spat out the last sentence with as much venom as he could. Dean felt his blood run cold as Justin stood up. Without another word to him, Justin turned his back on Dean and strode over to the door to take Alex home.

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He didn't go into details, and Alex didn't push it.

"Justin, I'm not afraid of you," Alex clutched his shoulder. "I feel safe with you…"

"You are safe with me. I'm your brother and I will always be there for you, to keep you safe."

"Pinky promise?" Alex prompted, eyes dazzling with the innocence of her childhood.

Justin smiled as he took her pinky in his and answered, "Pinky promise."

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A/N #2: Okay, I know the whole "mummy threatening" thing is a little bizarre. I just didn't want Justin to be a full-on macho man, I tried to keep him a little nerdy :D

And I'm going to let you all in on a secret............................................................................... *whispers* Reviews make me super happy!!!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: To those of you who have reviewed so far, thank you so so much. You guys made me happier than Christmas morning :]

**Disclaimer: Don't own WOWP. Fasho.**

Alex had asked Justin if she could sleep in his room that night. He obliged after one look of her puppy-dog eyes. She went to her room and changed into sweats and a tank top, her favorite comfy PJs. She drifted off to sleep ten minutes later while he held her hand loosely. Justin took a little longer, thoughts still replaying the night. _Everything will be okay now. _Finally with a sigh, his eyes drooped and he too let the embrace of sleep take him.

The next morning was Saturday and Justin awoke bright and early, as usual. He turned over and saw Alex was still slumbering, hair over her face. He quickly tucked it behind her ears and saw in better detail the bruises that had plagued her face. Shocking black and blue covered her lips and cheeks. Justin's eyes started to water at the sight. As if on cue, Alex sighed and smiled a little bit in her sleep. She unconsciously reached for Justin and laid a hand on his side. The sight made Justin's lips twitch into a half-smile. _She really will be fine._

As quickly and quietly as he could, he slipped off his bed and headed down the hall to shower and try to get a handle on his thoughts. If he kept lingering on what might have happened, he was going to drive himself crazy. He wondered what she would do today. Justin groaned as he remembered she had a shift at their sub station that afternoon, but he would take it over. Maybe he would call Harper and have her take Alex out for the day. Was that was best for her? Or would she just want to stay in all day?

Turning off the shower, Justin stepped out and quickly dried himself. He put on the clothes he had brought with him: denim jeans and his comfortable long-sleeve green shirt. He stuck his head out of the bathroom door and listened for any noise downstairs. Glancing at his watch he saw it was eight in the morning. His parents would be getting up soon to start breakfast.

He walked back to his room and sat on Alex's side of the bed. He stroked her forehead, trying not to scare her awake.

"Alex," he said in a singsong voice. "Wake up, come on."

Her eyes fluttered and she grumbled something unintelligible as she turned over.

Justin smirked and lightly rubbed her shoulder. "Come on, Alex. Time to get up"

After several seconds of no response, Justin grinned. "Alright, but you asked for it."

He stepped backward, grabbed with two hands the end of Alex's pillow, and pulled.

Alex's head bounced onto the bed, but still refused to open her eyes. Instead she groaned and covered her head in the covers. Justin then raised the pillow and brought it down with a _smack!_ on her stomach. It took three more pillow slaps before Alex finally sat straight up and growled, "Wow Justin, it's bad enough you look like a 12-year-old girl, do you have to act like one too?!"

Justin gave a lopsided grin and sat back down in front of Alex. "Glad to see you're back to your old self. Even though that's not the best you can do. There is no way _I_ look like a girl. And neither do you, right now."

Alex stuck out her tongue in retort and then leaned back like she was going to back to sleep. Justin grabbed her shoulders and kept her upright.

"Oh no you don't. Mom and Dad will be getting up soon. And we're gonna have to tell them what happened."

Alex's sleepy half-closed eyes flew open and she quickly said, "No, Justin. We can't."

"What? Alex, we have to! We have to file a report against him!" Justin exclaimed at her.

Alex just shook her head. "No, please Justin? I don't want Mom and Dad to know. I'm- it's… I'm embarrassed." Her mocha eyes were pleading, but not in the usual manipulative way.

Justin rubbed his face with his hands and let out a huge sigh. "Alex, this is a big deal. Mom and Dad _need_ to know. Maybe we don't have to file a report, but at least _they_ need to know."

Alex's eyes darted back and forth, trying to find a way to get out of this mess without involving her parents. Justin's voice interrupted her thoughts, "Alex. They need to know. Yeah?"

Alex slowly nodded her head but replied, "I don't know if I can do it, though."

Justin took her hand in his and told her, "I'll be right there with you. I'll even do most of the talking, okay?" Alex nodded again and she rose from the bed to go get dressed.

Ten minutes later, Justin and Alex descended the stairs to the smell of crackling bacon and chocolate chip pancakes. Their mom, back to them, was leaned over the frying pan and already dressed for the day. So was their dad, at the table reading the newspaper. Max was plopped in front of the TV, still in his PJs, playing a random video game about some magical people.

_Oh, the irony..._ Alex thought as she chuckled inwardly.

Justin cleared his throat and said, "Mom, Dad?"

They looked up simultaneously but it was their father who answered. "Well good morning you guys. Why don't you come sit down, breakfast is almost ready."

Alex wanted to run away, to run to her room and lock the door. She wanted to catch a bus and never look back. Instead, she allowed herself to be dragged to the table by her brother. They both sat down next to each other and waited for someone to realize Alex's bruises; which were getting more prominent with the rising sun.

Theresa scurried over to the table and set down the food, smiling at her two older children. She did a double take at Alex's lowered head and Justin's creased eyebrows.

"Alex? What is that?" Her mother almost whispered. Jerry removed his nose from the paper and looked up at her.

She flinched and lifted her face so her parents could see it fully. Theresa narrowed her eyes in examination, then widened in fear. Her hand flew to her mouth. Jerry's eyes also were wide, but with confusion.

Theresa called in a shaky voice, "Maxie, could you please go play that game up in your room for awhile?"

Max looked over and stared at the display for a couple seconds. He replied, "Yeah, okay Mom," he sounded a little scared. He walked slowly towards the stairs, not taking his eyes off his family until he had started to climb up. Luckily, Alex had turned her body in the chair so Max couldn't see her face.

Once they heard his bedroom door shut upstairs, Theresa almost yelled, "Alex, baby, what happened? How did you get those?" Alex thought she already knew but she answered anyways.

"Mom, Dad… I didn't go to a movie with Harper last night. I- I went to a party," Alex stammered. She felt Justin's hand on her shoulder for reassurance.

Jerry nearly exploded. "You WHAT?! Alex, you… you lied to us?"

Alex shuddered. She hated it when her daddy was mad at her. But her trademark sarcasm took over. "Oh come on Dad, is that really so hard to believe?" she scoffed.

Jerry was about to yell again, but Theresa interrupted him. "Alex, tell us what happened."

She bowed her head, the shame crawling to her face. Justin started to tell the story.

"Well she w-" he said before Alex cut him off with a shaking of her head. He had protected her enough.

"It's okay, Justin. I'll say it." Alex turned to her parents and proceeded to tell them everything. The drinking, Dean taking her to the basement, him hurting her, and Justin coming to save her. As soon as she was done, Theresa collapsed in the seat next to Alex and held her daughter close. Jerry kept blinking. He said nothing else, just blinked at his daughter.

Theresa relinquished her hold on Alex and said, "We'll need to contact the police and file a report." Alex was shaking her head halfway through the sentence.

"Mom, please no. I don't want this to turn into a big deal. I was drinking, the police probably won't believe me anyways."

Theresa turned to Jerry, looking for help. He still refused to talk, just continued to stare.

"Daddy, this is the part where you tell me "This is what you get for lying to us" or something like that, right?" Alex teased.

Jerry raised from his chair and rushed to Alex, squeezing her. "Honey, I'm so sorry," he whispered. Alex felt tears on the back of her neck, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Daddy, it's okay. I'm the one who should be sorry," she whispered back.

He pulled her head back and stroked her bruised cheek with his thumb. He smiled through watery eyes. He looked at Theresa and said, "Dear, if she doesn't want to call the police, then we shouldn't make her."

Theresa opened her mouth in fury, about to argue, when Jerry said, "But," he looked back at Alex in the extremely fatherly way she loved, "if this guy ever talks to you again, you _will_ talk to us about it and we _will_ contact the police. Got it?"

Alex almost rolled her eyes. _Gosh, they're so controlling._ And that's when it hit her: They were her parents. They were controlling for a reason! They had a right to be controlling, especially after what she had gotten herself into.

So in a completely non-Alex way, she nodded and whispered, "Yes, Daddy. Look I just want things to go back to normal. I'm really fine you guys, okay?"

Theresa leaned down to kiss Alex on the forehead. "Of course, _querida._ But you will take today off, we can manage without you."

Alex grinned, "If you insist," as she started helping herself to pancakes and bacon. Justin had gone upstairs to tell Max a very condensed version of what happened with Alex, so he wouldn't be scared when he saw her. Being young and naïve, he accepted Justin's version and hopped down the stairs after his older brother for breakfast. Max looked at Alex and didn't know what to say. He settled for, "Sorry about your face, Alex."

Alex dropped her fork and looked up to him, nostrils flaring. But she saw that even though his words were abrasive, he was showing sincere affection. She smiled and pulled him in for a quick hug.

"Thanks, Max. Now, come on everyone. I can't be the only one who's hungry!"

And everyone ate breakfast; making the usual conversation they always did at meals. Alex couldn't help but grin. Everything really would be okay.

After breakfast, Alex went up to her room and removed the clothing she had hidden underneath her covers the previous night, tossing it on the floor. Taking her wand off her nightstand she pointed at the garments:

**Please rid me of my disgraceful shame**

**Produce these clothes now into flame**

A magical fire erupted in the clothes. They crackled and burned until there was only a little pile of ash left. Alex scooped it up, carried it to the window and let it go in the wind. And with letting the remains of the horrifying night go, she was letting all self-blame go as well. She had burned that bridge.

She sighed in relief and let the breeze linger on her stinging cheeks for a few moments. A bird chirping in a tree below her caught Alex's attention. The way the sunlight reflected off the bird's feathers made its colors radiate.

Alex dashed across her room and grabbed her sketchpad from underneath her bed. She returned to the sill and started to sketch the bird. Drawing had always calmed Alex and made her feel at ease. She remembered the first time she drew something that was actually good.

She was with Harper in the park a couple of winters ago. They had spent the day sledding and walking around the local shops, occasionally stopping for a snowball fight or two. They settled onto one of the benches in the park, just when the sun was setting. They both had hot chocolate in their hands and napkins in their laps.

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"Aw, look Alex! Look at that couple over there!" Harper pointed a gloved finger over towards another bench. A couple was sitting there, hand in hand. The woman's head was resting on the man's shoulder, a smile of content on her face. The man's other arm was around her shoulders, hugging her against the cold. Alex's eyes shone with joy. She loved witnessing things like this. Even though she was the image of a bad girl, tough to the core, she was such a hopeless romantic.

Rummaging in her purse, Alex found a pen. She placed her hot chocolate on the ground next to her feet and held the napkin on the flat surface of the bench. She began to draw the image before her. It took her at least twenty minutes but it was worth it. Harper, thankfully, had the tact to remain silent throughout the process. And luckily the couple stayed planted on the bench, as if they didn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

Alex held up her sketch to Harper, who grinned in approval. It was rough and not very detailed, but she had managed to capture the innocence and love that was the couple.

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Alex paused from her drawing to look at the napkin she still had, tucked into one corner of her full-length mirror, and then returned to her current work. She took out her oil pastels to color the sketch. She matched the bird's pretty shades as best she could and held her artwork up to the light.

Alex barely had time to admire her work before a knock came to her door. She tripped over her art supplies and thudded to the ground in her rush to stash them under her bed. Though she felt she was quite good at art, she was skeptical to what her family might think. And while she would never admit it, their opinions mattered most.

"Oof!" she exclaimed, landing on her elbows.

"Alex? Are you okay?" came Justin's muffled voice from the other side of the door. "I'm coming in!" Alex scrambled up and tried to toe her sketch underneath the skirt of her bed.

Justin crashed the door open and looked around frantically. There stood Alex, hands behind her back looking as innocent as an angel.

"What's up, bro?" she asked nonchalantly.

Justin looked around the room and replied slowly, "I thought I heard a crash in here. Is everything okay?"

Alex looked around the room in mimicked examination. "I didn't hear anything," she shrugged as her toe kept inching the drawing toward her bed.

Justin looked down and saw what she was trying so desperately to hide. He pointed towards it, "What's that?"

Alex shrugged again and responded, "What's what? I think you're hallucinating, Justin. Too much nerdiness can be bad for the brain, ya know." She smirked at him, attempting to distract him. But with an impressive show of speed, Justin had scooped up Alex's drawing and held it up to see, despite Alex's arms covering his face and her repeated cries of, "Justin! Give it back!"

Finally in a huff, Alex gave up and threw herself on her bed, knees pulled close to her chest with a deep frown of annoyance set in her mouth. Justin ignored her and studied the picture in his hands. It was of an Eastern bluebird, the state bird for New York. The detail was immaculate and the colors were dazzling. His jaw dropped and asked his sister needlessly, "Alex, did you draw this?"

Alex just shrugged and waved her hand, like it was nothing. Justin then looked down at the floor again, seeing the littered pastels and paper. He picked one of the colors up and fiddled with it in his hand.

"How long have you been drawing?" he asked her with sincere curiosity.

Alex shrugged once more, "Um, I guess for the past year and a half. It's just a hobby though, nothing special."

Justin went to join Alex on her bed and set the picture between them. "I'm really proud of you," he told her kindly, to which Alex scoffed. "And not just for this, which is really good. But I mean with Mom and Dad this morning. You handled yourself very well. And I'm proud of you," he repeated.

Alex leaned in across her sketch and gave her brother a quick hug. "Thanks," she whispered in his ear. He drew back with a smile on his face.

"Now get to work, loser," Alex teased.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: To my readers and reviewers: You guys are amazingly amazing!! Thank you soooooo much times infinity for leaving me sweet things to read. I always get super giddy when I get a review, so please keep them coming! I could read them all day long :D

I also apologize for the longer wait for update. I had a little crisis that had to be dealt with this weekend. But all is well, and off you read!

Disclaimer: I don't own WOWP. But if I did, I'd buy a big house where we all could live! (Kudos to people who get the reference ;] )

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Alex continued to draw in her room all day. At lunchtime, her mother brought up soup for her and asked her how she was feeling. With a roll of the eyes, Alex replied, "I'm fine, Mom!" and tried to escape Theresa's kiss she planted on her forehead. Giggling, Alex shooed Theresa back down to the substation and went back to get her art.

Alex had hastily stuffed her supplies beneath her pillow when her mother had knocked on the door. When she left, Alex reached behind it to take them back out. She was surprised, though, when she felt the cold of metal between her fingers. Reaching further she grasped the unknown object and pulled it out from behind the pillow. Alex saw it was her grandmother's pendant in her hands.

She hadn't remembered taking it off or even putting it back in her room; last night was so hazy. Sitting criss-cross on the bed, facing the headboard, she admired the necklace. It was so simple. But it was so incredibly beautiful. In the midst of her staring and studying the necklace, she didn't hear her father come in behind her.

"Alex what are you doing?" he asked inquiringly, noting she was facing the wrong way on her bed. Alex jumped at the sudden break in silence and whipped around. "Oh, Dad. You scared me," she clutched her heart with one hand for dramatic effect.

Jerry moved closer, "I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing," he said sheepishly. Theresa's nagging for him to go up and see his daughter had finally gotten him to cave in, even though his wife had been up there only minutes before. In any case, it earned another eye rolling from Alex. But she couldn't help but notice Jerry's embarrassment. She chuckled slightly and replied, "Daddy, I'm fine. You can go and report that back to Mom."

Jerry grinned and was about to turn and leave when he spotted the silver chain in Alex's hand. "Alex, what's that?" he asked distractedly. Alex held up the necklace and looked at it rather than her father when she answered, "It's Grandma's pendant! I was looking for my heart locket in the lair yesterday and I found your jewelry box," she broke her gaze from the adornment to spare her father an impish smirk, "I found my necklace in there, but this was underneath it." The amethyst swayed slightly as it was suspended in midair.

She looked again at her father, a wide smile on her face. But her face fell when she saw Jerry's expression. It was one of wide-eyed horror. His eyes darted around the room as he took cautious steps towards his daughter. He stuttered, "Alex, d-did you… you didn't use magic w-when you had it on, did you?"

Alex became frightened and she stammered right back, "N-no Dad… I just wore it." The memory of what Jerry told her when she was ten-years-old filled her head. She instinctively shrunk back, and held the necklace out for her dad. He jerked it away from her and Alex recoiled. "I'm sorry Dad, I just thought it looked nice…" she rambled.

Jerry looked down at Alex and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Alex don't you remember what I told you about this? Don't you remember you promised?"

He was making her feel guilty and irritation bubbled in Alex's stomach. She scoffed and said, "Oh Dad, come on. I was ten! You just didn't think I could wear it without losing it…" She stood up to stare her father down, even though the top of her head only reached his chin.

Jerry sighed and all traces of anger left his eyes. "I was being completely honest with you when I told you about this necklace, Alex."

Her eyebrows creased in puzzlement. "Well what is it, then?" she asked in a small voice.

Jerry took his daughter by the hand and led her downstairs, "Come on, your brothers need to know this too." _Know what?_ Alex thought, seriously beginning to feel worried.

-----------------------------

Jerry had gathered his children in the lair, after showing Theresa the pendant. Without words, they knew what he meant by it. So he shuffled everyone inside and began to pace, not knowing how to start.

"Okay. This is not a normal necklace," he began.

Alex snorted, "Yeah I think we got that when you called us all for a super secret meeting about it." Max stifled a giggle.

"Seriously you guys," Jerry reprimanded impatiently, "this isn't funny. Inside this necklace is another wizard's power!" Silence fell between Alex and Max.

"Dad, how is that possible? That crystal in tiny! It couldn't even hold a peanut," Max told him "logically".

Jerry, always distracted by his son's less-than-intelligent statements asked, "Why would you want to put a peanut in a necklace? Oh, forget it. Look when my dad, your grandfather was much younger, there was a very evil wizard running around making a lot of trouble . Grandpa was a part of the rebellion determined to stop him."

Justin, who hadn't said a word since they'd entered, let his natural curiosity take him over. "Who was this wizard, Dad? How come we've never heard of him?"

"I decided it was best not to teach you from the wizard history books that had information on him. It happened almost fifty years ago; most of it went down in Italy. But I didn't want you guys to always be worrying about it," Jerry paused for a second and wondered if this was the right decision. Ever since they were born, he had protected his children from this secret. But they were all older now, he realized. They would need to know about it sooner or later.

Exhaling sharply, Jerry took the plunge, "His name was Vittore, and his goal was to eliminate all of the high-ranking wizards, take their powers, and overthrow the Wizard Council. He wanted to be the supreme ruler of the wizarding world."

"So, what happened?" Justin prompted, eager to hear the rest of the story; and to learn a little history, of course.

Jerry launched into the story of his father, Orlando and how he conquered Vittore:

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As the chime sounded, Orlando stepped out of the small shop, clutching a tiny box in his hands. He stashed it into his inner coat and walked down the lonely cobblestone alley that led to the waterfront. It was nearly dark, but this was Orlando's favorite time of day. It was chilly out, as one would expect, being that it was only a week away from Christmas. Orlando came up to a wooden ledge that overlooked the harbor of Genoa and examined his purchase. It was for his wife, the beautiful Alessandra, to whom he had been happily married to since they were young lovers. She was presently very pregnant with their first child, and they couldn't be more excited. Any day now, he would be a proud father.

As always, Orlando worried that his wife wouldn't like her Christmas gift, but he had a good feeling about this one. Stuffing it once again in his coat pocket he enjoyed the last few minutes of daylight by himself, lost in thought. He preferred the quiet life. Although, being a wizard doesn't really grant you that luxury a lot of the time. Especially with what was going on now.

Orlando rubbed his eyes wearily and tried not to think about the impending catastrophe that was unfolding. He knew the facts. Reports had just reached him this morning that three more extremely powerful wizards had been drained of their powers and killed. Vittore moving through Italy rapidly, and there were no leads on how to find him. The resistance was losing confidence, and soon, Vittore would have enough power to completely take over the wizarding world. Orlando usually had an answer for everything, a solution. But lately everything seemed to be out of his control and he didn't know how to gain it back. Alessandra had been supporting him through everything; she was his rock. The only cause for rejoice the rebellion had was for was the fact that they had secured one of the most powerful wizards alive, a prodigy of magic. His name is Brian Crumbs. Vittore had his eyes set on Crumbs for quite some time, but the rebellion had gotten to him first. He was slightly odd and not at all what you would expect from a genius wizard. Nevertheless, it felt good to have him safe. It gave them all hope.

Night crawled onto the walkway, and Orlando turned to leave. He had barely moved two feet before he heard the slight fall of footsteps behind him. Spinning on his heel, Orlando faced the alley he had just come from minutes before. Skulking in the shadows was a tall figure, shrouded by a massive cloak. Orlando went to reach for his wand-

"Oh no, my friend. There will be none of that," the figure crooned in a dangerous voice. Orlando's heart skipped a beat.

Vittore emerged from the path into full view. His cloak was deep crimson and slightly grazed the floor as he walked. Before he could move any closer, Orlando whipped out his wand and shouted, "Intero cotis!"

The stone on the walls from the surrounding buildings began to plummet towards Vittore. But with astonishing speed, he had taken out his own wand and swished it. The stone pieces turned to snow and sprinkled all around him. He lifted a hand to remove the hood from his head. Vittore's facial features were sharp and angular. His unusually high and prominent cheekbones made the rest of his face appear hollow. Except for his eyes, which popped against his russet skin. No lashes and a vivid olive green, Vittore's eyes looked unreal and deadly.

"Tsk tsk, Orlando. Haven't you learned to respect your superiors?" he inquired scornfully. He raised his wand and said lazily, "Conglacio."

Orlando was frozen in place while lifting his wand to retaliate a second too slow. Vittore circled him slowly like a buzzard waiting for its meal.

Sneering, he spoke in a low voice, "Oh fear not, dear Orlando. I will not kill you. Yet. It would be far too easy," he taunted. "What's more, you have something I want."

"Wait, no," Vittore paused his circling and tapped a finger to his chin in imitated thought. "You have something I _need._ A particular wizard… Well," he chuckled in amusement, "I'm certain even you are intelligent enough to know who I mean."

Orlando's blood boiled underneath his statuary figure. His magic pulsed through him, attempting to get out.

"Anyways," Vittore resumed turning around Orlando, "you _will_ provide me with Crumbs' whereabouts. Or I'm afraid things will have to get difficult. For example…"

Vittore slashed his wand through the air at Orlando and said, "Secare bracchium."

A muffled groan escaped Orlando as a huge gash sliced itself in his arm. Blood began to trickle down his fingers and spattered on the pavement. Orlando's magic was bouncing against all the angles of his body like a caged animal. His rage was growing and soon enough the magic would burst out one way or another.

"Yes, I imagine that stings a little," Vittore smirked as he took in Orlando's pain, "Now I don't know if this will be any incentive for you; imagine your wife…" Orlando's heart stopped. "Imagine her lying facedown on the ground in a pool of her own blood. All because you didn't provide me with this teeny tiny detail." Tears started to form behind Orlando's eyes, but he could not blink them away.

"Oh dear," Vittore faked a frown, "and I hear she's expecting, too. How horribly that would weigh on your conscious, Orlando. The deaths of your beloved wife and unborn child." Orlando felt his fingers twitch. The anger inside of him was sparking, giving him the smallest amount of mobility. He had never heard of a wizard breaking a spell that had been cast upon him; at least, not on his own. But now, he could feel it. A little while longer and Orlando would be able to finish Vittore. And luckily for Orlando, Vittore kept up his monologue.

"Unfortunately, your wife and child will have no choice in how I kill them. And believe me, it will be quite vicious. You, on the other hand, can have a say. But first you will tell me," Vittore stood face to face with Orlando and hissed, "Where is the wizard, Crumbs?"

Vittore removed Orland's wand from his fingertips, then turned his own wand on him and said, "Reccuro." Orlando felt his limbs being released from the spell and slumped to the ground, shaking with anger. Vittore hunched over Orlando and screamed, "Where is he?!?"

Orlando kept his head parallel with the ground when he whispered, "You will be stopped." Vittore scoffed and laughed, "Oh, I will? How will that be, Orlando? You are on the ground before me, I have your wand. You are powerless!"

Orlando could feel Vittore's breath on the back of his neck. In a split second decision, he bucked his head back and felt it make contact with Vittore's chin. He heard a satisfying shriek of pain. Then, in one fluid motion, Orlando stood up to meet Vittore face on, and brought his fist across Vittore's left cheek. He spit a stream of blood out with the force of blow and collapsed to the ground. Orlando's wand went flying and clattered to the ground right next to his foot. He stooped to pick it up and went to Vittore's spread-eagled figure on the ground. Marveling at their switched places, Orlando smirked a little as he said, "Wanna bet?" He kicked away Vittore's wand and raised his own to cast a spell.

All of a sudden, Vittore leapt up and tackled Orlando, grasping for his wand. "You think you can defeat me?" he spat out, blood streaked down his chin. They rolled around on the ground exchanging punches, elbows, and knees. In the midst of things, Orlando's gift to Alessandra tumbled out of his pocket. Neither one of them could gain the better hand long enough to say a spell. But the second Vittore looked at the package that had dropped to the ground, Orlando landed another fist on his temple. Crying out in pain, Vittore rolled away from the tangle of limbs clutching the side of his head. Orlando too saw his gift on the ground and thought _Yes, that's it!_

Scrambling to his feet, Orlando gripped his wand in one hand and the tiny box in his other. Standing over Vittore, who had blood pouring out of his nose and a swollen lip; he raised his wand to end it. Vittore glanced up, breathing heavily.

"Oh, so you're going to kill me now, is that it? Be the great hero of your time?" Vittore coughed and sputtered.

"No," Orlando answered calmly as he opened the box and took out the gift inside. Wrapping it around a finger, he let the amethyst crystal necklace swing in the air. Vittore's eyes widened. "I am not that man. I am not you. I'm not going to kill you. That would be too kind," Orlando continued coolly. He knew how to really hurt this man, this monster. "No, you're going to live. But you will never threaten or hurt anyone again."

Orlando raised his wand and ignored Vittore's sobbing pleads of "Wait, stop!" Orlando said with determination:

**For crimes against the world and me **

**I now declare you an enemy **

**In this crystal your powers I will store**

** Be now trapped forevermore!**

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"… he went home that night victorious. And that was the end of Vittore. His powers were trapped in the crystal and was turned mortal," Jerry finished his story with a look of pride etched on his face.

Justin's jaw had dropped and was looking at Jerry in awe. Max eyes shone with excitement. Alex had her head in hand and was chewing her hair.

Justin had so many questions. "Dad how is a little crystal able to hold a wizard's power? Especially Vittore's, I mean he'd been collecting other wizards' powers too, right?"

Jerry answered automatically, "Well an amethyst is special. It has properties that makes it able to be a catalyst for magical things, including wizard powers."

Max's eyebrows furrowed. "Okay, so why do we still have this? Why don't we get rid of it, or smash it or something?"

Jerry ran his hand through his hair and huffed out a breath, "Well we've tried to. But even if we destroy the crystal, the powers will just be released. And they'll return to the source. We haven't been able to find a way around it. So we just work to keep it safe and hidden from the world."

"But, if Vittore was defeated, then isn't it over? Why do we still need to protect it?" Justin asked hurriedly.

"Eh, it's complicated. We know that he had large number of supporters, agents all around the world who worked for him. There was no record kept so we had no way of knowing who worked for him. But we do know that they are still running around today. We've intercepted letters that suggest they are secretly recruiting people to restore his power."

"But isn't he like, super old now?" Alex asked with her hair still in her mouth.

Justin rolled his eyes but Jerry responded, "Yes, that amount of power would kill him now, he couldn't handle it. But the power is linked by blood. Vittore had descendants. So the powers, if ever released, would go to his nearest blood relative."

"Okay." Alex started, "So we know it's dangerous. Why can't I use magic when I have it on? It compliments my eyes so well!" She batted her chocolate eyes at her father.

"Yeah, too bad it doesn't compliment the rest of your face, but I don't think anything can…" Justin interjected. Max slapped him a quick high-five while Justin smirked. Alex elbowed her brother in the ribs and then resorted to examining her nails.

"If a wizard wears the pendant, and uses their powers with it on, it activates the magic inside the crystal. The magic sends out a sort of homing signal, which alerts everyone who's linked to the powers to where it is," Jerry said tiredly, exhausted of his children's' bickering. "And the people who will come to for it will do anything, and I mean _anything_ to get it back."

Justin, who was a little frightened by his father's seriousness, asked, "Is there any other way they can find it, without the trace I mean?"

"Well, I suppose they've been trying it the old-fashioned way. They know the family who has it, but it's a good thing Grandpa changed our last name when your uncle was born. You know," Jerry chuckled a little bit, "I remember my dad telling me about that day. You see, when he was battling Vittore, Grandma was having the baby. "She was so strong and brave," he told me. That's why we named you after her, Alex." Jerry smiled at his daughter, who was still picking at her nails.

"Aw, Dad. So sweet. Okay, so what do we do about the necklace?" Alex asked wearily.

"Well, you really can't wear it anymore, sweetie. No no, I mean it!" He said as she looked up at him with her puppy-dog eyes. "You are a loose cannon when it comes to magic, and you know it. We can't risk you forgetting about wearing the necklace and using magic," Jerry answered matter-of-factly.

Justin chuckled. "Dad, you are so right. She has the memory span of a goldfish. Hey, Alex," he turned to his sister, who was glaring at him with fire in her eyes. "Do you even remember what we just talked about? Here's the review: Magical necklace, you can't wear it because you're a little slow in the head."

Jerry pinched the bridge of his nose and left the lair with a frustrated groan to get back to work. His children filed out after him. Max, then Justin, and Alex bringing up the rear. Before the got out the door Alex smacked Justin upside the head.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed. Alex grinned and replied, "Pansy."

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A/N round 2: Okay so another reason I was a little late in updating was because this was a difficult chapter for me to write, knowing nothing about Jerry's parents and such, and also creating a villainous wizard. (Evil is NOT my thing) So please review, and let me know what you think!! :D

Also, a side-note about the spells in case anyone was wondering: Although I think the spells they use on the show are adorable and charming, I thought it best for battle spells to be a little quicker to say. So i looked up a bunch of words in the Latin dictionary LOL.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: School and work have finally started to NOT be my friends, and limit my time to spend on more important things, like writing. Oh, and also writer's block. He's being a little punk right now =[

I will try my best though, to get the story updated every couple of days!!

And as always, thank you so much to my loyal readers and reviewers; you guys make my literary world go round! Please please please continue to read and REVIEW!! =D

Disclaimer: Nope, I do not own WOWP. Frowny face.

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Alex was dreading school that Monday. Her bruises still stood out against her tan skin, and even applying three layers of foundation wasn't enough to completely cover them. She sighed at her reflection in the mirror that morning, touching her face gingerly. Then she thought of the looks people would give her, the whispers behind her back. She could already feel the tears coming before she decided to get rid of the marks another way.

Pulling her wand from her boot, she waved it and commanded:

**I have no time for lame excuses**

**Get rid of these unsightly bruises**

She turned back toward the mirror just in time to see the bruises fading away, leaving just Alex's tanned skin behind. Grinning to herself, she skipped out of the bathroom and ran right into Justin.

"Oof! Alex, watch it!" Justin whined. He looked down at his sister who was spitting hair out of her mouth and smoothing her shirt. When he saw that there was no trace of those awful marks, his face sobered. "So, you decided to use the spell?"

Alex had gone to Justin the night before for help. She thought maybe she could handle everyone's reactions to her face the next morning, but just in case she couldn't, she needed a spell that wouldn't backfire. Justin had whipped up the little rhyme with the reassurance that nothing would go wrong; like for example, her whole head disappearing when Alex tried her version of the spell.

Alex simply nodded at her brother and told him in a small voice, "I just don't want to be peoples' reason to whisper." Justin grimaced and pulled Alex in for a quick hug. They broke apart after a second and Alex sniffled a little. Justin nodded and beckoned her downstairs for breakfast. "Come on, we're going to be late."

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Even though she knew it was a sort of mask, Alex felt more confident at school, knowing that her face looked normal. _Not hideous_, she thought. Harper approached her bubbly as ever; totally unaware of what had happened to Alex. And she wanted to keep it that way.

"Alex! What do you think of my outfit?" Harper grinned at her best friend and took a step back so she could get the full effect. Alex managed to smother her fit of giggles as she examined Harper's wardrobe choice: Harper had made a dress that resembled a slice of pumpkin pie. The hem was wave-like and a light beige, made to resemble the crust. The rest of the dress was a burnt orange color. And on top of her head was a ridiculous hat that looked like a towel you wrap around your hair after a shower. Alex could only guess that was the whipped cream on top.

"It's great, Harper" Alex fibbed as the bell rang overhead. She dragged her feet as always to get to class, but was otherwise relieved seeing things were running as they usually did. Alex was a little disappointed that she wasn't allowed to wear her grandmother's necklace; she wanted to show it off. But even she couldn't deny that it would sound exactly like her to forget she was wearing it, and then using magic. And she just didn't want to give her dad and brother the satisfaction of being right. Not to mention she didn't really feel like being responsible for the restoration of one of the most powerful wizards in history. But that was whatever.

At lunchtime, Alex was a little nervous of running into Dean. Actually, she had been nervous of that all day, but luckily they hadn't bumped into each other. She certainly wasn't about to seek him out, and she was glad he was doing the same. Alex entered the lunchroom with Harper, happily chattering away about some new clothing line she was fashioning for birds. Together they found an empty table and sat down. Alex was nodding in all the right places, not really listening. Her eyes were darting anxiously from left to right. She caught sight of Justin who looked like he was doing the exact same thing.

Knowing her older brother was there, she popped open her can of soda and relaxed, actually getting into the conversation. Harper talked Alex's ear off for most of the lunch, until she abruptly changed the subject. "Hey, did you see Dean at all this weekend?"

Alex already had an answer prepared, but still gave a little jerk at his name. "For a little while at a party on Friday. We um… broke up." She looked away from Harper's big eyes. Harper gasped, "Why?!"

Alex just shrugged in response and said nonchalantly, "It just wasn't going anywhere."

Harper regained her composure and leaned in to whisper, "Well you must have left before it happened then… I heard that at that party, Dean got punched in the nose! It's completely broken, that's why he's not here today. Everybody's talking about it."

She pulled away and Alex started laughing. Harper eyed her in bewilderment but giggled a little bit herself. Just as their laughter died down the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. Alex finished out the rest of her classes that day in an upbeat mood. She still didn't pay attention, of course; but she was much more pleasant with her teachers. _That's something_, she thought. Alex; the victim and the object of ridicule that Dean had made her, was triumphant in this at least. Dean was the one who would be pointed at and laughed at. He was already target for the school's gossip. Sure, she had cheated a little to get rid of her problem, but she didn't regret it for a second.

At the end of the day, Alex skipped to her locker to put away her books. She, unlike the good students, laughed at the idea of lugging home her heavy textbooks just so she could do homework. She slammed the locker, eager to go home. Down the hallway, Justin was striding towards her with a smug look on his face. She heaved her bag over her shoulder and walked to meet him.

"What's up with you?" she asked when they stopped a foot away from each other.

"I broke Dean's nose! He didn't show up for school today," he whispered excitedly. He looked so proud of himself, Alex couldn't help but snicker.

"Yeah, way to go! I didn't know you had it in you," Alex lightly punched his shoulder, forcing him back a step. She turned to leave and called over her shoulder, "Come on! Let's get Max and go home, I want a sandwich."

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The next day at school, Alex saw Dean for a split second before he whipped out of sight down the hallway. _Wow, Justin must have really got to him._ When she told her brother this, he looked smugger than ever and said something about "Striking fear into the enemy's heart… blah blah blah". Alex rolled her eyes, turned on her heel and left him in the middle of a sentence.

Though she never caught a glimpse of Dean, she did get a picture text of him. Someone had snapped his photo right as he walked into school and proceeded to forward it to everyone they knew. It reached Alex's phone halfway through first period. She immediately deleted it from her phone, not wanting any reminder of Dean; but the message had made her entire day better.

_I'm way to happy to be at school, _she thought, smiling to herself.

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Weeks went by and eventually all talk of Dean and his broken nose faded away. Dean had never mentioned to anyone the real reason his nose was now permanently disfigured. He claimed that someone had jumped him on his way home from the party. Things at home were as usual. She was occasionally messing up spells to discount clothes at the mall or to cheat on a test. She even started noticing a new guy who came into the sub shop a few times a week. Justin had noticed all of Alex's noticing and immediately had a talk with her. She reassured him that not every guy was like Dean and that she would be careful. He crossed his arms and frowned, saying, "Well I'm going to keep my eye on him anyways." He meant it.

Alex finally exploded on her brother one day, as he purposely interrupted the exchange of phone numbers and quite possibly a hug between her and her new guy. She didn't speak to Justin for the rest of the day, but as soon as he went to her room that night and she saw his tortured face, she forgave him. She understood that he was only looking out for her. And though annoying as he may be, she was her brother and she loved him. She even told him so before shoving him out the door.

It wasn't until almost two months later that the Russos got the good news and bad news. Jerry had called his children into the lair after they got home from school one day. He looked excited and nervous and terrified all at the same time.

"Okay so we have some great news, and some not-so-great news about the necklace," Jerry said impatiently. Alex stiffened and sat up a little straighter. Though everything said or taught in the lair usually went in one ear and out the other, she was actually fascinated by the whole story of the necklace.

"Bad news: Vittore's supporters are closing in on us, they're getting more information every day. People are talking," Jerry ran a hand through his slightly thinning hair.

"What people?" Justin interjected, eyes filling with fear. He looked from Alex to Max, who both looked equally anxious.

"Old, burnt-out wizards who knew that Grandpa changed our name and other things concerning the necklace. They've been…persuaded by Vittore's people, I'm sure. And they started to spill secrets," Jerry explained.

"Like milk!" Max exclaimed. Everyone turned to stare at him and he asked, "So what does that mean?"

Jerry answered, "Well, you shouldn't worry about it just yet. We have a very good informant who will tell me if they find out where we are. And if that happens, we'll have to leave. Change our names, get out of the state."

"No way!" Alex argued angrily, "I have Harper here, and- and what about school?"

It was her turn to be stared at. After a couple seconds she rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Okay, fine, not school. But Dad, our whole lives are here. How can we just drop everything and leave?" she failed to mention that her new boy (Joel, she had found out his name was) and her were hitting it off rather well.

Jerry sighed and replied, "I know, Alex. But we won't have a choice. Look, I don't like it either. I mean your mom and I have our own business! But it's not our call. We have to do everything we can to protect the necklace. Okay?" He looked at his children in turn, waiting for their consent.

Max nodded, a goofy grin plastered on his face. Jerry wasn't sure if his youngest son had fully grasped what had to happen in the situation. Alex just waved her hand, faking indifference. Justin nodded curtly. He, unlike his sister, actually cared about school. And everything he worked so hard for would go out the window if they were found out. But he knew what it meant, to lose the necklace. He had looked up books in the Wiz-Tech library on Vittore, further elucidating on his reign of terror; some were more detailed than Justin would have liked. So he would once again be strong for his family, if the time came.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Like their father had told them, there really wasn't anything to worry about for the next few days. Alex, Justin, and Max were a little more apprehensive when they were out in public, but for the most part they just kept up with their normal routines.

Then that day happened.

Alex had gone out on her first date with Joel, which had gone very well. She promised Justin though, that she would meet him at their favorite frozen yogurt shop afterwards and tell him everything. _Well, maybe not everything_, she thought, replaying Joel's kiss he had placed on her cheekbone before they said their goodbyes. She had somehow managed to talk Justin into paying for her frozen yogurt, which weighed almost a pound.

It was dusk when they set out for home, walking side by side down Waverly Place, not teasing each other as usual. Instead, they chattered happily about nothing important. It was pleasant for a change. But, as they approached the sub station, Justin immediately knew something was wrong. The station was pitch black, even though they didn't close for another half hour. He gripped Alex's arm and walked up slowly to the entrance.

As quietly as he could, Justin pushed the door open and peered inside. He couldn't faintly distinct the outlines of tables and chairs. It was much too quiet. Alex followed Justin inside, scanning the room anxiously. "Justin, what is it?" she whispered.

He held up a hand and listened hard. All he could hear was his own heart beating and his ragged breath drawing in and out. He could feel the tension in the air and didn't take a step further. Alex's heart was pumping crazily, not fully understanding what was going on. But she too felt the strain in the atmosphere, fear slowly taking over her body.

All of a sudden, Justin's phone rang shrilly from his pocket, causing them both to jump and yelp in surprise. Justin clenched his jaw and fumbled with his phone.

"Hello?" he answered, a little annoyed. "Yeah, we're downstairs… Dad what's hap-?"

He looked at Alex and shrugged, allowing his father to speak for a second. "Okay, we're on our way up," he hung up the phone and turned to Alex. "We've gotta run, come on."

Alex was right behind her brother as they leaped up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Justin almost burst through the door and looked around. His father was pacing frantically and his mother was all over the place, packing things up.

Jerry looked up and rushed over to his children. "Okay, go to your rooms and pack as many clothes as you can fit into one suitcase. We have to leave _now_."

Alex shrunk back, scared by her father's hurried and frightened tone. "Dad, what's going on?" she asked shakily.

"They found out where we are. Our informant just told us they're coming soon to collect the necklace. So no standing around, hurry, go pack!"

Justin and Alex once again ran up the spiral stairs. They found suitcases in front of their doors and hurried to throw their things in them. Alex saw Max sprinting around his room, also packing. She caught a glimpse of his suitcase, which was mainly filled with clothes; but also contained a frying pan, a pair of flippers, and his lava lamp. Even when imminent peril was upon them, Alex managed to let out a giggle.

She was maybe seven minutes into packing when Jerry came running into her room.

"Are you finished?" he asked impatiently. Alex looked around her room one more time and decided she had everything she would need. She nodded quickly and Jerry grabbed her bag. She followed him out to the hallway where her parents', Max's, and Justin's luggage were all waiting. There was also a slightly larger suitcase sitting next to them.

"What's that one?" Alex asked curiously. Jerry answered, "That's just some magic stuff I think we'll need."

Theresa emerged from her bedroom, carrying some shoes. "Jerry, honey, can't we just fit one more pair?" Jerry sighed and the Russo children all chuckled.

*_CRASH* _

All eyes turned to the stairwell as they heard their front door slam open. Alex unconsciously recoiled when she heard a gruff voice yell, "Spread out and search the whole house! It's here somewhere…."

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A/N: My first cliffhanger, hooray! A total cliche one, but it still counts!! Again, pretty please with three cherries on top, review!! I thrive on encouragement :D


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry for the long wait, everyone. *dodges rotten fruit* But it's finally up. Yay! Lol okay, so as always, **reviews** make me super happy and make me write faster :D

A big thanks and a plate of imaginary cookies to those of you who do review. You guys make me super duper happy!!

Disclaimer: Apparently I'm not cool enough to own WOWP. Way to make me say it over and over….

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The Russo family huddled together in the hallway. Jerry and Justin had instinctively pushed Theresa, Alex, and Max behind them as they backed into Jerry and Theresa's bedroom. Jerry dug around in his pocket when the door was shut and pulled out a piece of paper. He turned to Justin, "Say this spell. It will transport the bags and you guys to the safe location I found for us a couple weeks ago."

Max clung to his mother like he was eight years old. "But what about you guys?" he whispered back.

Theresa's eyes started to fill with tears. Her lip quivered as she looked to Jerry. Their father told his children, "Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. You guys need to get yourselves out of here."

The sounds of crashing and voices were getting louder. Alex took hold of her father's hand, "No, we can't leave you behind! Why can't you come with us?" Angry tears flooded her eyes.

"The spell can't transport mortals. Justin, _hijo, _please take your brother and sister and go," Theresa begged her oldest son. Justin shook his head automatically and his eyes too filled with tears. Jerry took him by the shoulders and stared him down.

"Justin, I need you to be the man right now, alright? We'll meet you as soon as we can. Everything you'll need is in our bag. Take Alex and Max and go. Now!" Jerry shook Justin a little bit to keep him grounded and focused. The second Justin nodded slowly, the voices drifted down the hallway.

Theresa rushed to her jewelry box and took out Alessandra's pendant. She stuffed it into Alex's hand and kissed her forehead. She wrapped her family in for a quick and teary embrace. The voices down the hall carried underneath Jerry and Theresa's door and they could hear the man's voice clearly scream, "FIND IT! I don't care if we have to tear this place apart. We're not leaving without it."

Justin tore Max away from his mother's arm and went to reach for Alex. She shook her head and buried her face in her father's chest. "Don't make us go, we'll stay with you. We'll stay together. Please." Tears streamed down her face and drenched Jerry's shirt. He gently removed her arms from his midsection and nudged her towards Justin.

The next few minutes were a blur to Alex. She saw her father saying something last minute to Justin, and felt his arm around her shoulders. She saw his jaw moving and guessed that he was saying the spell because a second later, she and her brothers were standing in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. It was incredibly dark save for the think stream of light coming from a window ten feet above their heads. It was chilly and lonely. It wasn't home.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Alex didn't remember going to sleep. She was probably so exhausted from crying that she just passed out. When she awoke the next morning, Max was curled up against her like she was Mom.

_Mom._ Alex's heart sank.

Squinting her eyes before they started to tear again, she sat up and looked around. Justin was nowhere to be found and she panicked. Alex scrambled to her feet and examined her surroundings. Her guess the previous night had been correct: they were in a warehouse, which held all sorts of machinery and tools. She and her brother had been sleeping on a thin piece of foam. Off to her left, it looked like a kitchen had been set up; or at least, a sink, a rust-covered stove, a battered fridge, and rickety table were sitting on the concrete floor with a couple of fold-up chairs leaning against the wall. To her right, tri-folding screens had been placed adjacent to each other and their bags were sitting behind one of them. Alex tiptoed around, careful not to wake her still-snoozing younger brother.

The warehouse was huge. Besides their little living area, the room stretched for at least another fifty feet. Alex dashed around the entirety of it, searching for Justin. She pulled a hand through her tangled hair in frustration. She found herself wandering back to where Max was sleeping and kneeled beside him.

"Maxie, wake up!" Alex shook his shoulder gently. Max groaned and rolled over. Alex couldn't help but laugh a little bit; her little brother and she were so alike sometimes. She looked down at his curly locks that were splayed across his forehead. He looked so young when he slept. Alex got back to her feet and decided to take a look outside, letting Max have a few more minutes of peace.

She found the door to the warehouse and took a deep breath before she pushed it open. Sunlight immediately shone in her eyes as she stepped outside. Taking a few moments to adjust, Alex felt how warm it was. Warmer than New York was that time of year, anyways. Glancing around her, Alex saw that it was just dirt. There were a couple of bushes off in the distance, but other than that it was just earth that stretched on for miles. More machinery surrounded the warehouse. Alex wasn't quite sure what most of them did. _Well this is boring, _Alex thought.

She drifted back inside and turned to close the door. "Hey," a voice whispered in her left ear. Alex screeched in surprise and whipped around with her fists clenched, ready to attack. "Hey, no it's just me!"

Justin's voice rang in her ears and Alex's vision focused in on him holding up his arms in defense. Alex nearly screamed at him, "What were you doing?!" Justin winced and held up a finger to his mouth, telling her to shush.

"I was getting us some breakfast," Justin murmured, waving towards their "kitchen". Two tall cups of coffee and an assortment of bagels and fruit took up most of the table. Justin had unfolded the chairs and sat them around the tiny slab of plastic. Alex was about to run over and dive in until she and Justin both jumped when Max sat up on the foam mattress and shouted, "The cats stole my spaceship!"

His eyes wild, his hair sticking straight up, and a little bit of drool cascading down his chin, Max looked up at his older siblings. Alex and Justin spared one glance to each other before they collapsed to the floor with laughter. Max's eyes were glazed and he couldn't yet process what they were laughing about, but he smelled food.

Max's eyes gained their focus and he lifted himself off the ground. Alex and Justin wiped away their tears of hilarity and they all moved towards the kitchen. Justin reached into his bag of groceries and tossed Max a personal bottle of orange juice. He handed Alex one of the cups of coffee before taking a sip of his own. Then he pulled out the ingredients to embellish the bagels that were to the side: cream cheese, tiny containers of jelly and peanut butter, and Alex's favorite, chocolate fudge.

"Where did you get all this?" Alex asked, tasting her cup of mediocre coffee.

Justin didn't look up from preparing their breakfast when he replied; "I transported myself to a gas station about ten miles away." He handed Alex her bagel, which was practically overflowing with chocolate. It was just the way she liked it, but Alex frowned. "Justin, where are we? Do you know where Mom and Dad are? Shouldn't they have met us by now? What's going on?"

She sped through the tidal wave of questions without taking a breath, but they all just kind of hit her at once. Alex was confused and angry and scared. She glanced down at Max sitting in his chair. He looked as scared as she felt. She sat down in the chair and pulled it close to him, intertwining her arm with his. Justin passed a hand over his face and sighed. He answered slowly, "Well, from the maps I found at the gas station, we're in some small town in Arizona, Kearny," Justin tossed an informational brochure on the table in front of Alex and Max. "We go to school in a couple of days. Dad must have enrolled us…"

_He looks so tired,_ Alex thought. "I don't know where Mom and Dad are," Justin stated helplessly. Alex's stomach dropped and she could feel herself panicking.

"I've tried to call them. It goes straight to voicemail. I've tried the house phone. A message saying it's disconnected plays. I don't know how to reach them," Justin slumped down into an empty chair and put his head in his hands.

Alex moved from Max to Justin, sliding her arms over his trembling shoulders. He whispered so only she could hear, "I don't know what to do." Alex gave a little squeeze and murmured into his ear, "It's okay."

She straightened and went to make the rest of the bagels. Max had scooted his chair over to Justin's and placed a tentative hand on his older brother's shoulder. Justin tilted his head to Max with drooping eyes. He closed them briefly before enveloping Max into a strong hug. Alex dropped their plates in front of them and the sound of silverware clattering broke the boys apart. They ate in comfortable silence.

After breakfast, Justin showed them where the dingy bathroom was. Alex's jaw dropped when she saw the tarnished shower and cracking toilet. Justin rolled his eyes and said, "Alex, grow up. At least it's not outside…" Alex stopped complaining. Justin also explained that the screens were their only means for privacy. He had set up one foam mattress behind the screen closest to the concrete wall. The other screen was for the boys.

Max had explored the rest of the warehouse, and brought back handfuls of metal objects that had fallen loose from the machines. Justin had brought over the bag of their magical things and started to unpack. Alex smiled as she saw that the bag itself was magic. The three children started to pull out its contents and saw that the amount of it, for regular people, would have needed ten suitcases instead of one.

"Being a wizard rocks," Alex exclaimed. Justin returned with a tight-lipped smile and said solemnly, "Okay. I think we should wait a couple of days for Mom and Dad to show up. In the meantime, no one touches the magic stuff, okay?"

His words were for both Max and Alex but he was only looking at the latter when he said the last part. Max chuckled and Alex huffed while crossing her arms. Then a thought struck her and she sobered her face when she asked Justin, "What if Mom and Dad never come?"

Justin didn't answer.

_____________________________________________________________________________

That night when Alex undressed to take a shower, she found the necklace stuffed into her jean pockets. She asked Justin what they should do with it.

"I want you to hide it someplace. Don't tell Max or me," he answered in a low voice. Alex asked him why and Justin sighed. He told her, "If they find us, I want you to use magic and transport yourself somewhere, anywhere. Don't worry about Max or me; I just want you to get out of here. That way if they cast the truth spell on us, we won't be able to tell them."

Before her emotions could betray her, Alex replied snidely, "Since when did you grow into your big-boy voice?"

Alex went out into the night to hide the necklace. She wandered around aimlessly, not really looking for a place in particular. The moonlight was so clear; Alex didn't even need to use the flashlight Justin insisted she took with her. Plus her wand. Plus her cell phone. Plus the whistle he draped around her neck. Plus the baseball bat.

Alex had finally drawn the line at the old bottle of window cleaner Justin tried to shove in her hands. "You know, I think if a coyote or some big cat were going to attack me, cleaning their windows wouldn't be my first reaction," she snorted.

So there she was; wand in her back pocket, baseball bat in one hand, and the necklace in her other. She toed rocks with her sneaker as she dragged her feet. She didn't really want to waste the effort of _thinking_ of a place to hide the necklace. She had always done her best work when she didn't do much thinking at all.

But she was thinking. Alex was thinking about her parents. She was thinking about Harper. She was thinking about her brothers who were inside. Justin tried not to be scared for her and Max. But she knew him better than that. He was just as terrified and unsure as she was. Alex decided that she admired him though, for that. Alex was indifferent, aloof, and hard in personality. Everyone knew that about her. But if something huge, like say, not knowing where your parents were and the fact that evil wizards were hunting you down, were to somehow come up. Yeah, the Alex walls-of-stone would come crumbling to the ground.

Alex sat on the dusty ground a good ways away from the warehouse and looked up at the stars. In New York, you were lucky to see them. But here, Alex could see the miles and miles of twinkling lights in the sky. She smiled a little and thought, _This is a completely different world._

A scurrying noise snapped Alex's attention back to the earth. She gripped the baseball bat she had laid down beside her and arose as quietly as possible. _God, please let it be a stupid little animal, please let it be a stupid little animal…_

A light breeze sent chills up Alex's bare arms and she fumbled with her flashlight to switch it on. She realized that this is the part in all the horror movies where the main character is supposed to go where more people are, instead of trekking off alone. But her feet were leading and her brain had shut off. The light was bouncing from left to right and all Alex could see was the dirt and some desert weeds every now and then. She heard the noise again coming from her right and whipped around.

The light was quickly trailing the ground. Alex could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She was about to bolt when the beam came upon a large pit of burs. Entangled in the thorny spheres was a a stupid little animal, just like she had asked for. It was a tiny rabbit. Alex finally let her held breath out. She moved a little closer and saw the tan fur was covered in blood. Her hand covered her mouth as she watched little animal tried in vain to kick his way out. Alex rushed over and kneeled to the ground. She set to work, unraveling the branches to release the squirming rabbit. After about ten minutes, sweat was trickling down Alex's forehead, and the animal was free. He sprinted away with a little limp and Alex sighed in relief. The branches had tore open the skin on her hands and forearms, but saving the rabbit made it all worth it. It was only after the rabbit ran away that Alex realized she could have just used her wand to get him out of there, if she had set the amethyst down. She was about to turn away and walk back to the warehouse when she looked down at her hands again. She fingered the necklace she stashed in her front jeans pocket and looked back at the bur plant.

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Justin was pacing the enormous warehouse. It had been at least a half hour since he sent Alex out to hide the pendant. _How does she always do this to me?_ He asked himself._ How can she always make me worried sick?_

He had told Max to get some sleep, even though it was only eight. But he could see the exhaustion and worry and fear for their situation in his younger brother's eyes and threatened to not get them pancakes for tomorrow's breakfast unless he immediately went to bed. Now Justin had the "bad" sibling to worry about. He flipped open his phone to call her but saw that his battery was dead. With a groan of frustration, Justin grabbed his wand and a flashlight and headed for the door. Wrenching it open, the sight of his sister in the doorway caused him to yelp and clutch his heart.

"Where have you been? How long could it possibly take you to hide a tiny necklace?!" Justin pulled Alex inside and closed the door behind them.

Alex smirked, "Aw, you scared for me, big bro?" Justin crossed his arms in a very Dad-like way and she sighed.

"I just got lost in my thoughts, okay?" she pushed past him to walk over towards the kitchen so she could wash her bloody hands. Justin cut off her retreat and scoffed, "What thoughts?"

Alex narrowed her eyes and reached up and was about to shove him away when she realized, _Ugh, right. Bloody hands. No touching._

Justin noticed them too. And his sarcastic demeanor instantly transformed to concerned as he took her hands in hers, causing her to inhale sharply.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" He dragged Alex to the sink and ran the water. Alex hissed as the pressure of the water hit her open cuts. She managed to smile though, when she answered, "I just got into a fight with a mountain lion. I totally won…"

Justin's eyes didn't avert from washing the red away from Alex's skin but chuckled. "Yeah, okay. Did you trip and fall over some rocks, Miss Klutzy?" _Protective Justin is no fun, _she thought. Now the cold water was starting to feel nice on her wounds.

"No, I was.. I just…" This was the part Alex had a hard time admitting. Saying she saved a baby rabbit was like saying she liked girly things like unicorns and heels. Alex heaved a great sigh and muttered, "I untangled a rabbit from a bur plant."

Justin slowly turned his head to hers and saw the her pained look. He let a few seconds go by before erupting in laughter. Alex seethed and punched him in the arm, which she immediately regretted. The pain from her cuts seared through her body and she placed her hands under the water again. Justin, still chortling, went to grab the mini first-aid kit he also bought from the gas station. "So, did you find a safe place for the necklace?" he asked her. Alex just nodded, not wanting to give anything away.

They sat in silence as Justin carefully wound bandages around Alex's hands and arms. She didn't protest to being taken care of, because she knew she couldn't do it herself. She dressed for bed behind her screen and snuggled into her blanket, waiting for sleep to come. She was about to drift off when she saw a dim light turn on through her closed eyes. Alex creaked open one eye and saw through the thin panel that Justin had turned on a flashlight. She sat up and peered around the screen, seeing her brother's figure on his piece of foam.

Justin was lying on his stomach and had a flashlight in one of his hands. A comic book lay on the mattress in front of him. She chuckled slightly and Justin looked up. He hastily tried to flip his blanket over the book but Alex widened her eyes.

"Alright, alright. I'm going to bed. Night, Alex," Justin said as he flipped off the flashlight.

Alex nestled back into her bed and called softly, "Love you, nerd."

She smiled when he answered, "Love you too, brat."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm so sorry for the late update....again. Please don't hate me!!

On another note, thank you so much for reading and those of you who review. You might be tired of hearing it, but you guys rock my world! I'm so thankful that you guys let me know how much you like the story. Also, I realize I never said it, but I welcome all suggestions, if you guys want something to happen let me know and I'll try to incorporate it in the story!

Reviews are like ice cream and cookies for me, so come on people, make me plump! =D

Disclaimer: Still don't own WOWP. Blast...

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Morning streamed through their tiny window. Justin had already picked up their breakfast and shoved Max in the bathroom to take a shower. He strode over to Alex's tri-fold and peeked around it. Alex's hair was strewn every which way; her face was barely visible. Justin stifled a snort as he went to retrieve something from his purchases he bought at the nearest convenience store. Jerry had left Justin their credit card and all their bank information. Apparently, his mother and father sold their sub station weeks ago. They deposited all the money from the sale in a new bank account they had set up here in Kearny. But Justin knew that the money, thought a fairly large amount, would not last them forever.

Justin pulled out an air horn from within the bag. Grinning to himself he thought_ No more sucker punches to the gut for me. _Seriously though, trying to wake up Alex in the morning was bad for his health. So he slinked over to her sleeping form and stopped about a foot away from her dainty toes. Covering his ears with his remaining hand and partially his shoulder, Justin pushed the tiny little button to blast the horn. He cringed as the shriek of it echoed around the room.

The image of Alex jumping up, hair flying, eyes ablaze, screaming nonsense words and the tripping over blankets to get her feet alone was worth the punch she sunk into Justin's chest once she had finally caught him. And there he was doubled over against the sink, one arm wrapped around his torso. Coughing and sputtering he thought, _So much for my health._

Alex smirked at him from her plate of pancakes she had already helped herself to. Max emerged from the bathroom already dressed and looked at the scene before him. He was about to ask about what happened when he spotted the pancakes. Eyes hungry, Max nearly tripped over Justin rushing to get a plate. Alex giggled and Justin glared.

Finally regaining his breath and poise, Justin sat down and sulked. He didn't join in the conversation with his brother and sister. They giggled and joked for ten minutes before Alex's hand flew to her throat and she started to wheeze uncontrollably. Justin's eyes snapped up and he leapt from his seat. He asked frantically, "Alex, what's wrong?"

She gasped between breaths, "All…The. Fun… sucked… from the.. room!" Her wheezes dissolved and her panicked eyes turned to mischievous. She grinned at her older brother who could only give her a dumbfounded look in return.

Max guffawed and slapped Alex a high five. She turned back to Justin and asked, "Okay really though, what's eating you?"

Justin was about to explode. He wanted to strangle her. But of course, he didn't. Instead he inhaled a long breath and turned to his younger siblings.

"Okay, I don't want to freak you guys out but I've been thinking about Mom and Dad." Both Alex and Max stiffened at the mention of their parents and they gave their full attention to Justin, a feat that was frankly, quite amazing for Alex.

"I think… if by the end of today we haven't even heard from them… I'm going to go back to Waverly Place in the morning to look around. Maybe they left something behind for us. A- a clue or something as to where they might be." Justin's voice was drenched with hope and desperation.

Alex stared down at her plate and finally said in a small voice, "They could still come to us. They could be on their way." Her tiny voice trailed off and she shrugged. She scraped her fork around her plate and refused to meet her brothers' gaze.

"Alex." She winced at the sadness in Justin's voice. Still staring at the remainders of her pancakes, Alex just sighed and nodded in agreement.

"Also, Dad left me all of our school information. We start in two days at Ray High School. He even got us fake names and everything."

"Whoa, awesome! Please tell me my name is Bartholomew," Max chimed in excitedly.

Justin laughed and shook his head. He went to go get the information sheet while Max's smile faded from his face. "Aw man…" he whined softly.

"Alright, Max, you are now Carter Nelson. Alex is Amber. And I'm Patrick."

Alex interjected, "Ooh, so that means I can call you Patty, right?" Justin spared his sister a glare before he continued reading, "Our parents, Mary and Daniel, own their own flower shop. Wait, that won't work. Okay our parents work from home. They're…authors. Got it?" Justin stared inquisitively between his younger siblings.

Alex waved him off and Max nodded enthusiastically. Justin was about to continue when he interjected, "So what kind of stories do they write?"

Justin humored him, "Mystery thrillers. Now about ho-"

"What? But that's silly! We're wizards, they should be writing fantasy adventure or something." Max stared intently at his older brother.

"…anyways. About how we're going to get to school…" Justin continued, ignoring his growing frustration and headache.

"Well we'll just transport ourselves. With magic," Alex said from her seat. "Well that was easy! And you're supposed to be the smart one," she smirked at Justin.

Justin stuck out his tongue to Alex before pressing on, "We can't transport ourselves. We have to use our magic as little as possible. This is such a little town. People look at you closer here, someone could spot us. No, we can't risk it." Justin slashed his hand in the air, declaring that was _final._

"I spotted a truck for sale when I was in town, and with the money that Dad left us we could buy it," Justin said to himself more than anyone, scratching his chin in thought.

Alex rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine. Then go get it. Me and Max will wait here."

"Max and I," Justin corrected automatically. Alex flipped her hair and glowered at him. That was his cue to leave.

"Alright, I'll only be gone for an hour at the most. Keep your cells on and call me if you need anything," Justin said as Alex was shoving him out of the door.

"And stay out of trouble, please!" Justin called as she slammed the door in his face.

Alex turned to face the open warehouse with her arms crossed and a mischievous grin plastered on her face. Max strode over to his sister and echoed her stance. She glanced down at him and asked him impishly, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh yeah," Max replied with a chuckle, "Totally going to build the best fort ever…"

Alex slapped a palm to her face and got to work.

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Town was lonely. Lonely and dusty. Justin had only met the grocer and gas station attendant, Billy and Paul, but they both seemed friendly enough. They had asked where he was doing in town and where he was from. Both times Justin had left the warehouse were when he let the full weight of his parents' absences set in. He must have looked like a kid in trouble (seeing as that's what he was), because both Billy and Paul never asked his name, though they gave theirs right as they shook hands.

Now Justin set off to find that truck's owner. He knew that Alex would hate riding in the filthy seat, hearing the squeak of the rust and age. He knew she would complain everyday and list about a thousand reasons why it would "just be easier to use magic". Max wouldn't mind so much. Justin smiled at thinking of his brother's go-with-the-flow attitude. That's why he knew Max would stick with him no matter what. What scared him late at night, when he thought about the future, was if Alex would too.

Justin set up the narrow stone path a mile from town. He always transported himself behind this huge pile of junk. Broken phones, watches, sinks, tractors, everything was in the pile. The first time he discovered it he thought about scavenging. But Justin didn't want to be that desperate. Not yet.

The sun was high in the sky and tiny beads of sweat were clinging to the back of Justin's neck. When the wooden structures and buildings came into view, Justin wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and scuffled over to where the rusty vehicle marked: **Truck, runs great. $1,500** was parked. It was placed next to a tiny house that looked like little more than a shed. He assumed that the owner lived there so he approached the front step and tentatively knocked on the green door with peeling paint. A clattering could be heard from inside, followed by a husky "Coming!"

The door swung open and Justin retreated a step. The elderly woman before him was wiping her what look liked oil-covered hands with a tiny rag. Her hair was the whitest Justin had ever seen on a person, and was fluffy like a cotton ball. The woman's glasses were lopsided and lime green. The rest of her outfit was loud as well. Darker navy sweats that hung loose from the woman's tiny limbs were complimented with a bright turquoise top, decorated with stitching of little red hearts. The icing on the cake was her neon yellow Crocs. Justin had to subtly subdue his chuckle at the sight.

"May I help you?" she asked politely, eyeing Justin from head to toe. Justin cleared his throat and his manners kicked in. "Yes, hello ma'am. I was just wondering if you were the owner of that "for-sale" truck right there." Justin twisted to point to the truck.

The woman smiled warmly and offered her hand, "Why yes, that's me. Annabelle Williams. How do you do?"

"Nice to meet you, ma'am. Patrick Nelson," Justin replied, taking her handshake. He thought, _Well, it's a teeny tiny town. Everyone will know my "name" eventually._

Justin thought he did very well for his first official lie in the town of Kearny. He would never admit it to Alex, but he had practiced in front of the mirror about a hundred times. That one of the things she had over him, Alex could lie about anything anytime and make anyone believe it was true. He remembered when back to when they were kids; Alex was 12 and wanted the last double chocolate chip cookie. Justin was 13 and already had dibs on it. So Alex launched into this elaborate story about how he was allergic to chocolate because of the placement of his birthmark. Apparently a birthmark on your right shoulder meant you couldn't eat chocolate, according to Alex. And he had believed her, even though they had just had their mom's chocolate cake for dessert the previous night.

"It's a '78. The low price is because of the mileage. It's upwards of 135,000, I'd say. Also there's a few scratches and dents, but that never hurt anybody," Annabelle explained to Justin. He merely nodded and asked, "Will you take a check?"

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Alex and Max appraised their work. The warehouse before was cold, concrete, and bland. Now it was colorful, carpeted, and just better in every way. Alex was thinking of the spell all night, tossing and turning on her little slab of foam. She couldn't handle it anymore, the tiny dribble of water that was the shower, the tri-folding screens that you could pretty much see through, the uncomfortable chairs they had to sit in for meals, and their so-called beds. It was ridiculous. Alex could not be expected to put up with these conditions for more than a week.

So she said a little spell that might have went along the lines of "This place is really starting to smell, now let's make it a five-star hotel". She couldn't really remember.

Before Alex and Max was a cream plush carpet, so soft Alex could sleep on it and be completely comfortable. They actually had walls separating the rooms. The kitchen had a marble countertop and actual appliances. The stainless steel refrigerator was even stocked. They all had their own bedrooms, complete with full beds and dressers. And the bathroom was… well, Alex approved. A Jacuzzi bathtub and a vanity sink took up most of the room but she felt it would be worth it. There was even a small family room off of the kitchen that had a decent sized TV with a cabinet full of DVDs and video games. Alex and Max were so ecstatic they didn't even really care about Justin's sure-to-be explosive reaction.

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Justin pulled up to the warehouse in the rickety truck. Annabelle wasn't lying to him; the once-blue truck did run great. It was just really noisy and a little rough on the ride. Justin had never driven manual before, but he had read about it in his driver's education manual. After a couple of grinding of the gears, he had the hang of it. The truck went surprisingly fast, and Justin managed to navigate his way home in a short fifteen minutes.

When he hopped out of the drivers seat, Justin brushed off his pants and took the informational brochure from his back pocket, re-reading through it a couple more times. Looking down at the various pictures and little bullet point facts, Justin entered the door and strode in. "Hello, I'm home," Justin called out, removing his dirty sneakers at the front. He walked his way over to the bathroom to wash his hands.

Alex and Max sat at their roomy dining table, with cushioned chairs, each sipping on some milkshakes. They just followed Justin with their eyes as he stripped his shoes off and walked over to the bathroom, brochure in hand. They waited five seconds before hearing Justin's yelp of surprise. He came sprinting in to the kitchen, eyes darting wildly all around him. He pointed at the various amenities (including, Alex found, a washer and dryer hidden behind the pantry).

Justin sputtered, "But-this-he-you-ALEX!" in an incredible likeness of his father.

Alex snorted in her milkshake and said with fake enthusiasm, "Surprise!"

Justin's face went through a series of colors: from red, to white, to blue, and then rested back on red. "Alex, what did you do? We can't keep all this!" he said with a hiss.

Max piped up, "Well actually, if you really think about it? We can…" He nodded seriously despite Alex's giggle.

"You guys, this isn't right. What if someone were to see this?" Justin said frantically, running a hand through his hair and staring around.

Alex scoffed, "Oh please, Justin. No one even knows we're here. It's not like this stuff is stolen…" She ate another spoonful of shake as raised her eyebrows in a "I don't see what the big deal is" expression.

Justin knew he was outnumbered, and if he tried to put it back to normal, Alex would just redo the spell. He chuckled at his naïve belief that she would tough it out the hard way like he was prepared to do. After a couple of minutes of internal debate, Justin ran another hand through his hair and sighed.

"Fine, it'll be good to have a decent shower, I guess." Alex grinned at her triumph. "Man, we'll be in so much trouble if someone finds out…" Justin whined again for emphasis of his dislike for the situation.

"Oh calm down, Patty," Alex replied with a smirk.

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	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Don't own WOWP... or Tempur-pedic. But boy oh boy, I wish I did ;]

Enjoy you guys!

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Alex couldn't seem to get to sleep that night.

Even though her comforter was satin and she was pretty sure her mattress was a Tempur-pedic. But after Justin had settled down about the whole "remodeling", they spent the rest of the day in anxious silence. Justin kept checking his watch and phone. They chewed their dinner without conversation. Max tried to break in the video games, but his brain wouldn't connect with his fingers. Alex spent the rest of the night doodling on the couch; drawing sketches of random scenes in nature and the new animal life she had seen running around, including the little rabbit she'd saved. Justin stayed at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands and bouncing his leg like he always did when he was nervous.

It was close to ten o'clock when Justin came into the new family room and addressed his siblings. "Okay guys, I'm going in the morning back to Waverly Place. I'm gonna find out what happened to Mom and Dad."

Alex started to nod but then she comprehended what Justin was telling her, "Wait- what? What is this "I" business? We're going with you." She stood up from the couch at the same time Max did. They faced Justin and both crossed their arms. _Why do they always gain up on me?_ Justin thought angrily.

"Look, I don't know what might be back at the house okay? It could be really dangerous. There's no way I'm letting you guys come!"

"Excuse me?" Alex's voice dropped an octave and was barely above a whisper, ""Let us"? They're our parents too. And we're old enough to decide for ourselves. We're going." Alex's mocha eyes burned into Justin's green eyes. She could tell this was going to be a long fight, but eventually she would win it. She always did.

Max spoke quietly, "Justin, what if something happens to you and you don't come back?" His eyes blinked rapidly as if he were keeping tears away. Justin had no choice but to soften at his brother's look, but he wasn't backing down.

He took Max by the shoulders and met his eye line, "Maxie, I can't risk losing you guys. Do you get that? If something were to happen to you or your sister, I-" his voice broke a little, "I don't know what I would do, okay?"

Max sighed and nodded slowly and Alex's jaw dropped. Now the tables were turned. Justin and Max both straightened and face Alex now. She clenched her hands into fists and refused to look at them. They barely heard her whisper, "Whatever, I'm still going." Then she sat on the arm of the couch, stared at her knees, and didn't say another word.

Alex heard Justin mutter something unintelligible to Max. She heard his retreating footsteps and felt the couch jerk as Justin fell back into it. She stole a sideways glance at him, retaining her stoic expression. He had his limbs spread out, completely vulnerable. His hands were covering his face and she could tell he was trying not to start yelling at her. _It'd be easier if he did, _she thought, _I can deal with angry Justin no problem._

Instead of shouting and jumping up and down like Alex had hoped, Justin scooted over to Alex's arm of the couch and leaned his head against her leg. She tensed, not knowing what to do or what to expect.

Without looking at her, Justin said, "Alex, can you just try? Try to understand for me? I have no way of knowing what's back there. They could have rigged the apartment to explode or something," he threw a hand in the air for dramatic effect.

Alex rolled her eyes and her anger melted away. "Must you always over think things? I swear, I'm surprised you're not dead from all the things you get scared of. Look, I get it, okay?" She turned, forcing Justin's head to move to look at her.

"You're doing what big brothers do. Looking out for us kids. But here's the thing, Justin. We're not kids anymore. We know that it could be dangerous; we _grasp_ that concept. Max and I don't care, though. We just want to be there for you and help you. Because believe it or not, you do need help sometimes."

Justin folded his arms over his chest and shook his head a little. "But what if-"

"Alright, enough. There's always going to be a "what if" in every situation. Sometimes you just have to take a risk, you know?" Alex said simply.

Justin started to breath heavily. _How do I always lose?_ _Even if she stays here, she'll end up coming anyways. Can't stop Alex…_

"This is so not fair, how you always get your way," he murmured with his eyes still shut. He turned his head towards her body and opened his eyes just in time to see her perform her own little victory dance.

"But," he said sternly. "There are some rules you _will_ follow." The tone of authority forced Alex's arms to cross again and her eyes to roll. But she held her tongue and let Justin boss her around… just this once.

"Number one: You do what I tell you. I know that will be so incredibly difficult for you," he teased, "but what I say goes. Number two: No magic unless I say so. Number three: We're only there to look for things that might tell us what happened to Mom and Dad. We are not going back for your clothes," Justin ignored Alex's scowl at the last rule and folded his arms over his chest in a very haughty manner. He knew soon she would be running out of outfits to wear and that he would be hearing about it for weeks, but he would not chance any of their safety just so Alex could get her favorite pair of cowboy boots.

"That's a lot of me doing what you tell me. I don't like it," Alex pouted. Justin was about to snap back a response when she finished, "But I'll follow the dumb no-fun rules."

Justin's eyes widened in mock surprise, "What, but- It's a miracle! Praise the Lord, Alex is going to follow rules!" He threw his hands up in the air and waved them around.

Alex sniggered and shoved her brother's shoulder. "Hey hey, don't get used to it. This isn't for you… it's for Mom and Dad." Justin turned to her slowly and brought his hands down to his lap. He nodded once and then glanced over at the kitchen.

"How about some hot chocolate?" he asked.

"With extra whipped cream," Alex answered automatically.

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So there was Alex, in the most comfortable bed she'd ever been in, and she couldn't sleep. She kept playing over scenarios in her head, imagining terrible things that had happened to her parents. She knew she shouldn't, but the bad things have a way of just popping in there. She was a little scared to fall asleep, afraid of the dreams that might find their way into her head. She didn't know if she could handle any more nightmares.

Alex would never tell anyone, not even Justin about the nightmares that already plagued her sleep. Ever since the horrible night with Dean, he would revisit her in her dreams. Sometimes he would turn into a terrible creature, sometimes he would hurt her more, and sometimes he would finish the job. Every night though, she always screamed and yelled in that cold, dark basement, and no one could hear her. Every night, Justin wasn't there to save her.

She groaned in frustration and pulled herself up out of bed. Alex knew she wouldn't be able to sleep with all this impending danger nonsense buzzing around in her head. She tiptoed to the bathroom for a quick blistering shower. Surprisingly, all thoughts were erased from Alex's mind as the water beat down on her face. Instead she focused on the rhythm of her heartbeat, the sounds the water made when she shifted, and the feel of every drop on her skin. It was so incredibly relaxing, and Alex felt that maybe now she could sleep. And she did, even though the thoughts flooded her brain. Thoughts of her mother and father, of a certain necklace, of her little brother's goofy grin, of her big brother as a superhero, of hot chocolate, of tiny rabbits in trouble…

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Alex felt the warm sunlight on her bare shoulders. Her knees were tucked underneath her chin and she could see the sun sparkling off the waves. She wiggled her toes in the sand, enjoying the grating feeling. She felt cool metal on her neck and saw that she was wearing the amethyst. The sun reflecting off it winked at her and she sighed.

She'd always loved the beach. Even though she complained about how the sand always lodged itself in her hair and she couldn't get it out for weeks, about how the ice cream she'd begged her dad to buy her melted to fast and got her fingers all stick, about how Max managed to splash the stinging salt water right into her eyes, and about how Justin was such a nerd and brought his homework with.

But at the end of the day, those are the things that made her smile the most. Now she was here again. _Why am I here?_ she thought to herself. Alex realized that just the night before she and her brothers were in the warehouse-now-mansion type thing.

She lifted her head from her kneecaps and looked around. The beach was completely empty except for her favorite pink towel with little smiley-faced starfishes. Alex stood up and brushed the sand from her body. It was perfect weather for her black and pink polka-dotted bikini top and matching black sarong she had wrapped around her waist. She turned around, eyes scanning the beach. Besides the water behind her, it was _all_ just beach. There weren't even seagulls or tiny hermit crabs scuttling in the sand.

"Alex!" A voice called from behind her.

She whipped around and saw her mom wearing her beach attire, standing where the waves broke against the shore. She just appeared. Theresa beckoned her daughter over, grinning. Alex stumbled over the sand in the hurry to get to her mother. She hurtled into her mother's embrace laughing hysterically through her tears.

"Mom, you're okay! Where were you, what happened?" Theresa stroked her hair and whispered, "Don't worry _querida,_ everything is going to be all right now."

Alex released herself from her mother and looked over her shoulder. There in the water, splashing and goofing around, was the rest of her family. Theresa slid to stand beside Alex, one arm around her shoulder. They watched together as Max tried to make "sand angels" right where the water reached its peak before retreating back to the ocean. Every time he managed to make a decent angel, the waves would come and wash it away. Jerry and Justin were attempting to body surf. Jerry's suntan lotion he had pasted on his nose and cheeks was visible even from the shoreline.

They tumbled with the waves when they collided with the beach and ran back where Theresa and Alex stood, sputtering out water and sand. Justin pulled his sister by her wrist, "Come on, Alex! It'll be fun!"

There was a feeling that crashed over her that was… uncomfortable. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, but there was something telling her it wasn't right. She refused, pulling her hand back, "What about Mom and Dad?"

She looked over her shoulder at her parents, who smiled and nodded, encouraging her to go with Justin. Then she touched the necklace on her neck and asked, "What if I lose the pendant?"

Justin rolled his eyes and reached back for her, replying, "Don't worry, it'll come back to us eventually."

Somehow these words made sense to her. Alex grimaced but then allowed herself to be pulled into the noisy waves. The water was very warm, almost like a bath. Forgetting all thoughts of the worry in her stomach, she plunged into the water after her brother. He slowed up and kept pace with her until they were far out enough to get the big waves.

The two laughed insanely as they surfed wave after wave. Alex always came up from the water with her thick brunette tresses in her face and Justin always had to readjust his trunks, they would always go awry from the waves. Theresa and Jerry watched from the shoreline and Max looked like he had passed out on his towel. It felt like they were little kids again. They were about to head out of the water when Justin waggled his eyebrows and pointed to the massive wave that was forming behind them.

The anxious feeling that gripped her insides came up again, but the adrenaline coursing through her body took control. She grinned jubilantly and started to paddle out alongside Justin. Treading water, they waited. This wave was incredible. It reminded Alex of the time she had watched _Poseidon_. The fact that nearly everyone died in that movie because of the giant wave didn't phase her excitement to ride it. It crept closer and Justin yelled over to her, "Alright, get ready! This is going to be amazing!" He flashed Alex a grin before focusing on the wave again. She turned herself from the wave and started to swim.

The surf from the wave was unbelievable. Alex felt like she was flying high over the beach. The sun kissed her face and she held out her arms, enjoying the ride. It felt like hours before the wave finally collapsed onto the shore. Surprisingly, she was not encased and sucked back into the ocean. She landed on her knees and hands right on the shore, gasping for breath. She stood and looked around grinning, for Justin.

But he was nowhere. Alex twisted to where her parents and Max were laying. But there was nothing. She revolved in a circle, scanning the beach for the second time today. It was like how it was before. There was nothing but beach and ocean. Panicking, Alex ran back to the ocean and called out her brother's name, "JUSTIN!"

She was about to break down into tears when she heard a soft voice through the breeze, "Alex, here!"

Alex looked back at the now completely calm ocean, and saw splashing in the distance. She tore into the water but couldn't seem to get her feet to move out of the wet sand. She turned around and looked for something, anything when she yelled, "Help, please! Someone help me!"

All of a sudden, a wave had crashed around Alex, knocking her to the ground. The water pulled her ankles to the ocean and enveloped her entire body. She flailed her arms and legs, fighting the ocean. The amethyst tightened around her slender neck, keeping her down. Bubbles flew from her mouth and nose as she screamed. Then the water poured into her mouth. The salt burned her throat and set her lungs on fire. Alex tried to rip the necklace off but it cut her fingers as if it were a razor. The water was so dark, Alex couldn't even see the surface, but she kept fighting and fighting. Her brain was foggy and she couldn't think anymore. The only thought that flitted across her mind was _I'm going to die. Alone. _The darkness overtook her…

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Alex's eyes snapped open and her breathing was ragged. She sat straight up in her bed, which was drenched from her sweat. Her hands immediately flew to her mouth to keep from screaming. She automatically started to gulp in huge amounts of air, making sure she really hadn't drowned. Alex felt the strong desire to rock herself back and forth for comfort but she resisted as she heard footsteps approach her door.

A light tapping on her door and Justin's voice calling softly, "Alex, you awake?" forced her to take deep breaths to calm herself before answering.

"Ugh, yes!" Alex yelled back, laying face down and muffling her voice with a pillow to deter Justin from any suspicion. He cracked open her door and popped his head in.

"Come on, we've gotta start getting ready. Breakfast in five minutes, okay?" Justin said quickly. Alex responded with a thumbs up over in his general direction, face still buried in her pillow. He shut the door again and Alex made sure his retreating footsteps were real before sobbing uncontrollably into her pillow. She wondered how something so silly as a dream could make her cry so hard and feel so alone and scared.

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A/N: Hope you guys liked the chapter, if you did please please please review!!! This chapter was inspired a little bit by a dream I had not too long ago.. Boo nightmares. But yay material for writing! =D


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own WOWP. Ohhhhh well.**

Alex pulled herself together quickly, wiping the tears away from her face and leaping up to get dressed. Nerves tingled and shocked through her entire body as she yanked on a simple t-shirt and skinny jeans. She did not admit out loud that she was scared, ever. But she couldn't help her thoughts from saying it in her head. With a slightly trembling hand, Alex turned the doorknob and exited her room in search for breakfast.

Contrary to her belief, "The world doesn't revolve around you, Alex" as her dearest brother had put it so bluntly. Alex was forced to pour her own bowl of cereal in her still sleepy state. Max had already polished off one bowl and was reaching for the box to pour another. Apparently Justin wasn't hungry. Alex saw him take a couple bites then proceed to watch the rest get soggy. She munched her own cereal in silence, deciding against commenting on it. She knew that the nerves had got to him.

Justin stood swiftly from the table, causing Alex to jump. Without looking at neither she or Max he said, "Alright we should get going."

Alex sighed and looked down at her half-finished bowl. She always navigated around the little marshmallow pieces in her _Lucky Charms, _eating the crunchy parts first so she could save all the nice, sugary bits for last. She plunged her spoon in the milk, devouring them all in a matter of seconds, not even having time to savor it. Justin chuckled at her and commented, "You're going to have such a headache later."

Alex stuck her tongue out at him and also rose from the table. She looked around once and asked Justin, "Should we bring anything? We don't know how long we'll be there."

Justin shook his head and replied, "No, we'll be there for a couple hours tops. I'm bringing my wallet and wand, that's it. We're going light."

Max dropped his spoon, which clattered against the empty bowl. He threw up his arms and looked dejectedly at his older brother when he snapped, "Well that's just great. Thanks for telling me that _after_ I ate four bowls of cereal." He gestured towards his stomach, which growled as if on cue.

Alex and Justin laughed and Justin ruffled his curly locks. With a jerk of the head, Justin motioned for them to follow him into the family room. He kneeled at the mahogany and newly shined coffee table, where papers were strewn everywhere. (Another perk of Alex's hotel spell was that during the night, everything cleaned itself. Justin didn't complain so much about her disregard to using magic carelessly after that)

Justin passed a hand over the papers and said in a low voice, "I've been studying a few spells that we might need. Battle spells…"

"What will we need those for? We're going to our _house_, Justin, not a battle." Max scoffed.

Justin fidgeted a little bit and said slowly, "Well, the people who came into our house might have set up traps… or they might not have left."

Max snapped his head up in shock, but the thought had already crossed Alex's mind.

"Look, we have the amethyst right? They have our Mom and Dad. They're probably just waiting for us to come back. They'll think we'll trade the necklace for them. So we're leaving it at home."

Alex shouted, "What? Justin, those are our parents! If they're waiting there for a trade, we have to give them anything they want!"

Justin pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Alex, if they get hold of the necklace, they'll release the powers. Mom and Dad wouldn't want us to do that and you know it."

Alex grumbled and pouted while she listened to the rest of Justin's plan and "safety regulations" like they were buckling up on an airplane. She tuned him out almost instantly and started thinking devious and mischievous thoughts. She was concocting her own brilliant plan…

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A half hour later, the three Russos were in disguise and slinking down Waverly Place. Their feet propelled them to the now empty sub station. A big red "For Lease" sign was nailed to the door, and the windows were painted in. They slipped behind the alley towards the back entrance. Justin cupped his hands over his eyes and peered inside. After a couple of seconds, he pried himself from the window and made a few wacky over-the-top hand gestures, giving the "all-clear" to his siblings…who were standing five feet away.

Alex slapped him upside the head and reached behind the trashcan to the right of the door. The building had a loose brick that the Russos kept their spare key in. She didn't know why, but she was scared it wouldn't be there anymore. So she breathed a sigh of relief when the gold metal object was secure in her hand. She handed it to Justin as she climbed to her feet.

As quietly as he could, Justin inserted the key and twisted so it would unlock. He pushed open the door and it creaked dangerously like in the horror movies. He took one step in, then crouched down to look around. He took another step….and another…..

Alex and Max waited in the doorway. Alex's arms were folded across her chest and skepticism was etched on her face. After five steps of the step-crouch-look routine, she rolled her eyes and strode past Justin, who immediately straightened and whispered, "Hey!"

She waved for them to follow her wordlessly as she moved towards the stairs. Her wand tapped against her calf as she scaled the winding steps that led to their house. It was her only form of reassurance at the moment. She might not know what to do with her hands in case someone leapt out from the darkness at her, but she at least knew what to do with her wand. Justin and Max trailed close behind her, Max's hand on her shoulder to lead him through the dark. It was so eerie just hearing their footsteps on the stairs and nothing else. There was _always_ noise in the sub station. Whether that be the customers munching on their food and conversing with one another during the day or sweeping and scraping chairs during cleanup at night.

They finally reached the door to their house. Justin moved in front of Alex now, getting his wand ready. Alex and Max echoed him, pulling out their wands and holding them out in front of them. Justin reached for the doorknob and the two younger siblings held their breath. His fingertips were almost to the brass when he suddenly turned around. He jumped when he saw two wands pointed directly between his eyes. His face flashed in irritation and he lowered the wands with two of his fingers.

"Try not to point those _right_ at my face!" he whispered, "Alright now remember what I told you guys."

"Yeah, okay we got it Mission Impossible, now let's go!" Alex whispered back impatiently.

With a deep breath, Justin jiggled the doorknob. It was unlocked. It swung open revealing the living room and kitchen to the three Russo children. Only it looked like a tornado had hit the place. Chairs were toppled over, books and papers littered the ground. The cushions from the couch were ripped off and tossed to the ground. Plates lay broken on the counter and floor and the door leading to the patio was shattered. The shades were all drawn, shrouding the apartment in dim light. Alex bit her lip as she stepped inside after Justin, looping her arm with Max's. She could feel tiny trembles jerk his body slightly. She gave his arm a quick squeeze and led them forward.

It was impossible to navigate around the various papers and broken glass. Justin put a finger to his lips at his younger siblings and stepped as lightly as he could. Alex looked around the wreckage as she tiptoed after her brother. Their television set had been slashed open and their many DVDs and Max's video games were thrown about. Even some of the floorboards were ripped from the floor.

All Alex could think when she saw the destruction of their house was: _Mom is going to be sooo mad…_

It took all of two minutes for Alex to be bored of all the sneaking around. Plus the breath she felt obligated to hold was getting painful. She whispered to Justin, "Okay, no one's here. Can we get this "operation" moving now?"

Justin turned to scowl at her but then relaxed. He said in his normal voice, "Yeah, okay. Spread out and search for clues…" Then he flinched noticeably, and Alex knew why. The better part of that sentence was verbatim to what the mysterious man had said when he broke into their house that terrible night. The reason they were here now…

She didn't say anything though, as she moved to the family room. Max had opened the shades and let the peeking sunlight fill the room. Now it seemed almost normal. Except of course, for the complete mess that was their house.

"I found something!" exclaimed Max from the bookshelf that was near the stairs.

Justin hurtled over the fallen chair and rushed to Max's side. Alex took her time, thinking that looked like way too much effort.

Justin's excited, "What is it? What is it?" halted as soon as he saw what was in Max's hand. It was the ceramic cat that Max wrapped up for their father's birthday every year.

Max laughed and held it up, "They didn't break it! Now I can wrap it up again for Dad's next birthday!"

Alex and Justin groaned in unison. "Max, come on! We're looking for real clues here." Justin grabbed his younger brother by the scruff of his neck and dragged him away. He turned to Alex and said, "Max is going to stay here with me, sifting through these papers. You go upstairs and take a look around."

Alex's hands automatically went to rest on her hips, her weight shifting to one foot. She was about to retort when Justin raised his eyebrows. _Ugh… rules, _she thought.

Then she turned on her heel and proceeded to stomp up the stairs, grumbling nonsensical things about "stupid big brothers" and "don't need to listen" and "dumb rules". Justin shook his head and his sister's immaturity, but turned his focus to the vast amount of papers they needed to go through.

Upstairs, Alex peeked into all the bedrooms before deciding to start looking in her own first for clues. Justin's room was completely trashed. He had so many books in there, and it seemed like the men who had broken in tore out every single page. There was no way Alex was going to fish through all that paper. She never wanted to go into Max's room, but it seemed like the bad guys had no problem with it. Alex couldn't even see the floor, it was so littered with weird objects of her brother's interest.

She didn't want to step foot in her parent's bedroom either, just for the sake of not putting her tear ducts to work. So she slid into her own bedroom, a sigh of relief escaping her. The mess in her room wasn't even so bad; probably because it was already messy to begin with. Her entire closet was scattered on the floor. Pieces of jewelry were littered among the clothes. The full-length mirror that helped Alex admire herself was now shattered. _It doesn't really matter. These things can be fixed with my handy dandy wand, _she thought to herself. It was when she recognized her artwork and drawing utensils broken, ripped, and crumpled on the floor that she got angry. Really angry.

She'd been irritated and upset in the days she spent in the warehouse with her brothers. But she rarely got this anger, this rage, which boiled her blood. Hot tears of frustration spilled over her eyelids. Alex gingerly picked up one of the crumpled pieces of paper. It was her sketch of the Eastern bluebird, the drawing that allowed Justin to find out about her secret passion; the one he complimented her on.

It was so smudged, Alex could barely tell it was a bird anymore. She tried to tell herself it didn't matter, that it was just a stupid drawing. But her sketches were much more than that and she knew it. Alex poured her emotions into these pictures, and the finished product always gave her a sense of satisfaction. She had a reason to be proud of herself for something that she was really good at. And these men, these cruel men, took that away from her.

Alex let the drawing drop again to the floor, remembering why she was here. Pushing her feelings of loathing down deep, she toed through her clothes, keeping an eye out for anything abnormal. Nothing suspicious was on her floor, and Alex was about to give up when she could hear Justin's voice in her head, "Don't forget to check every corner of every room. Top to bottom!"

Groaning, she turned back to her room and dropped to her knees beside her bed, lifting up the skirt so she could look underneath. Alex flattened against the ground to get a better look. She gave a quick scan and found nothing of interest. She sighed and was about to flip down the skirt again when a glint of light captured her attention. Something was lodged in the crack of space that was between her headboard and the wall. Scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion, Alex groped for it with her hand. Fumbling around folds of clothes, she finally caught it with her fingers. Retreating from beneath the bed, Alex held the little thing up to the sunlight.

It looked like a strange coin that was roughly the size of her eye. It wasn't round thought, the border had been shaped into a star-like figure. And both sides were filled with strange symbols. Alex had absolutely no idea what they were, but she thought it was pretty. She stuffed it into her jeans pocket and headed for the door to show her brothers what she'd found.

Alex was reaching for the doorknob when she heard a _whoosh!_ of air behind her. She whipped around, eyes wide. Her window was open, but she didn't remember if it had always been. Her observance skills were nothing to brag about. She waited for a few seconds before shrugging and turning back to the door. She was about to skip on out when a hand seized a fistful of her hair and yanked her back in the room.

She cried out, but a hand had covered her mouth, muffling the sound. She struggled to break free, but the hand that held her hair just wound itself more tightly. A man's voice whispered hoarsely in her ear, "Not so fast, Princess."

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A/N: Dun dun duuuuunnn... I know, another cliffhanger! Sorta.. I'm kinda becoming obsessed with them. I blame the soap operas. But anways, I hope you enjoyed! If you did, please review!! I always love reading what you guys have to say =D

P.S. Another big thank you to my loyal reviewers, you guys rock!!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Hello everyone, I am so sorry for the huge delay… Midterms were this week and they were especially needy this semester. But here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy!! Review if you liked it, or didn't like it, or if you didn't even read it =D

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own WOWP. I cry myself to sleep at night :[

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Alex whimpered at the stinging pain in her scalp. The hand over her mouth was humongous, and grubby. She was forced to inhale the scent of tobacco and dirt and… _blood?_ A wave of nausea swept through Alex's stomach.

"Now girlie, you're gonna hand me what's in your pocket. I would gladly do it myself, but my hands are busy…" the man chuckled in her ear, hot smoky-smelling breath stung her nose.

The grip on her hair and the pressure on her mouth slackened a fraction as the man shifted to give Alex's arms some room to move. She leapt at the opportunity and pried her mouth open, sinking her teeth into the man's flesh. He threw his head back and howled in pain. Releasing Alex's mouth, his arm instead slipped to her neck and clenched in agony. Alex used his arm as leverage as she jumped up and landed hard on the man's feet.

He toppled backwards and Alex wrenched herself from his hands. She tore open the door and sprinted down the hall. "JUSTIN!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Alex practically flew down the stairs; she didn't even feel her feet touch the steps. Justin had met her halfway up them and Alex crashed into his arms.

"Alex, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked frantically, searching her face and arms for signs of injury. She tried to tell him about what was going on, but her mind was just screaming at her _Get out, get out! Get your brothers and get OUT!_

"Have to go- now- Move!" was all she managed to articulate. Justin's feet finally gave and allowed Alex's arms to push and shove him down the stairs. Max leapt back from the bottom of the steps, narrowly avoiding being crushed. His eyes were wide and full of fear as Justin grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door.

But before they had taken two steps, a crashing sound came from the top of the stairs as the man came tumbling after them. Alex only caught a glimpse of him before turning and sprinting towards the door, but she saw that he was donning a muddy brown trench coat and a mask, grotesque and distorted, covered his face. Justin had his wand out and was shouting spells, but Alex couldn't make sense of them. She grabbed Max's hand and ran for the door and was shouting for Justin. She could feel things breaking and flying around her, everything was chaos. Alex reached for the handle but before she could touch it, her hands flew to the small of her back, and she could feel something wrapping around them.

Alex lost her balance and collapsed to the floor. Gasping, she struggled like a turtle on its back to get a better look at what was going on. She managed to flip over to her knees, and she saw that Max too had his hands bound behind his back. He was squirming on the floor, looking frightened as ever. She reeled her eyes to where Justin had been fighting. His hands weren't bound, because he was laying facedown on the ground. His arms and legs were sprawled everywhere and there were bits of the ceiling that had fallen on him. His wand was still in his limp fingers.

"Justin! JUSTIN!" Alex shrieked her brother's name over and over, trying to get him to stir. _Oh my god, please no. No, please. He can't be…_

At the sound of his sister's screams, Max squirmed and struggled more to get right side up. "What happened? Where's Justin? What's going on?!" he shouted.

Alex saw the masked man cowering behind one of the overturned chairs and Alex followed his line of sight. Standing casually on the last step, twirling a wand in his hand was another man. She was thrown off when she saw that he too was wearing a gruesome mask that twisted the human facial features, but he also had on a very nice three-piece suit.

"Well, now that this is under control," he spoke slowly through the mask in a dangerous velvety voice. "We will be taking care of our other business."

Alex didn't really pay attention to what he was saying, she was staring at Justin's body and desperately trying to inch towards it.

"Pick up the children, and set them down on the chairs." The man flicked his wand and three of their chairs righted themselves and sat in a row. Trench-coat man moved swiftly over to Max and grabbed him up by his shirt, despite his and Alex's simultaneous, "HEY!"

Max toes were dragging across the ground and over Justin's legs. He still didn't wake up. Trench-coat man shoved Max into the chair roughly, causing it to tilt a little. The suited man moved to hover over Justin and passed his wand over the entire length of his body.

"What are you doing to him?" Max asked in the bravest voice he could muster. "Stop that!"

Suit-man paid him no attention, but started to mutter under his breath. Trench-coat man started back to grab Alex. She struggled desperately with her bonds, but he lengthened his stride and grabbed the front of her shirt. He leaned in close and inhaled the scent of her hair, "Mm, peachy. That's the stuff that can get you into trouble with a man…" he whispered menacingly. Alex steeled her gaze and refused to look away. She would not be intimidated by this disgusting excuse for a man, although inside she was absolutely terrified.

A twisted leer that would usually creep Alex out was plastered on the mask he wore, but she was looking right at his hungry and sinister eyes. When she didn't answer him with a whimper or a lip quiver, he grunted and lifted her to her feet by her hair. A sharp intake of breath was all she would allow herself to give as the man practically dragged her like a rag-doll over to the chair. She tried to get a better look at Justin, but Trench-coat man was blocking her view. She felt her feet stumble over his legs and she resisted the urge to break down and sob.

Like Max, Alex was also thrown into the chair violently. She felt a sharp pain against her elbows as they slammed against the back of the chair and she breathed, "Ow." He searched Alex for her wand, and took his sweet time doing it. He smirked as he swept his fingers around her ankle where she had stashed her wand and pulled it out from underneath her jeans. She was about to say something along the lines of, "keep your hands to yourself" when she heard a tiny groan from the ground. Both Max and Alex started to writhe, trying to see Justin.

"He is awake, you almost killed him." Suit-man said with an eerie placidness that unnerved Alex.

"Put him with the others, but be gentle. He is still weak."

Trench-coat man did as he was commanded. He picked Justin up swiftly underneath his arms and half-walked, half-lugged him to his chair. The man took out some rope that was stashed in his inside coat pocket and tied Justin's hands behind his back. He was seated in the chair on Alex's left and she could finally see his face. He had a tiny gash on his left cheekbone, and a small trail of blood leaked from his brunette hair to the bottom of his tanned jaw. His eyes were half-open and he was breathing heavily.

"Justin, are you okay?" Max whispered from Alex's right.

"Silence, little child," Suit-man ordered softly. Alex didn't know what it was about his voice, but it shut Max up in a hurry.

He spoke again, but it was to the Trench-coat man. "Are you aware, Jack, that you almost allowed them to escape without procuring the crystal for the second time?"

Trench-coat man, _or Jack,_ Alex thought was in serious trouble. She could feel the tension in the air. Jack took Suit-man's place on the last stair while Suit-man paced in front of the Russo's chairs. Alex looked straight ahead, but she could see out of the corner of her eye that Jack was shifting uncomfortably.

"S-sorry, Ghost. The older kid knew some spells he shouldn't," Jack spoke in a shaky but rough voice. _What kind of a name is Ghost?_ Alex thought.

"That is your excuse? The older boy knew spells that exceed his level?" Ghost asked in his almost indifferent voice. He sounded bored, but there was a certain threat behind it that Alex felt.

"I apologize. I was under the impression that you were a full wizard, no?" Ghost dropped his voice to a deadly whisper. "You waste your time taunting the girl and underestimating your opponent. If you had just done your job," his voice started to raise in octave, "then I would have no need to step in and waste my efforts on such _trivial_ matters!"

"But… boss.." Jack started in defense.

"They are CHILDREN for God's sakes!" Ghost turned to Jack and spat through his mask. Jack recoiled an inch, but otherwise did not move or speak.

"Now," Ghost turned to the Russo children, who all just sat frozen in their seats. Alex wondered how this man could make his voice change in inflection so easily. A second before he had shouted at Jack with a certain venom. Now he was talking to them with a very believable pleasantry. He focused on Alex when he addressed them.

"I believe you have found something that belongs to me, and you have something else that I need. Would you kindly hand them over?" Alex was dumbfounded. Her mouth was slacked open, but she didn't say anything, and she had stopped moving. Her breath caught in her chest. All she could do was stare into the man's icy blue eyes, which mirrored his tone. He flicked his wand and Alex's hands were free.

She remained rooted in her seat. Justin was swaying slightly in his, trying to keep conscious. And Max seemed as mesmerized as Alex. Ghost held out a hand for Alex to stand from the chair, and she… took it? _What am I doing?_ she asked herself hysterically.

She rose from the seat and marveled at how tall Ghost was. Her head only reached his chest. Without thinking, Alex went to take the strange star-shaped coin from her pocket. But defiant-Alex rose up and put her metaphorical foot down. She snapped her jaw shut and tore her hand away from Ghost.

"Ah, a little hesitant I see. Well no matter, I am a stranger to you, I would not expect you to completely trust me," he chuckled mirthlessly, "but let me explain something to you."

He bent down uncomfortably close to Alex's face. "You will give me your utmost cooperation. You will hand over the coin and crystal without fuss, and you will do so immediately."

Alex had no idea what possessed her to do it, because just moments ago she had decided she'd never experienced anyone as terrifying as this man, but she rolled her eyes and scoffed simultaneously. She did not expect the backhanded blow to her face not one second afterwards. The force of the slap caused her to stumble a little. She heard Max yell out, "Alex!" as Justin flailed his legs, trying to lunge at Ghost.

Alex lifted a hand to her stinging cheek and gasped. "Jeez, what is it with guys and hitting girls?" she muttered more to herself than anyone.

"Oh it's not something I particularly pride myself on," Ghost moved once again unnervingly close to Alex's face, now pink from the slap. "But I do not tolerate insolence. Especially from little girls whom I could crush with my bare hands." His eyes narrowed and the ice blue was now menacing instead of amiable.

Alex bit back her retort and just stared him down. "Now, the coin and crystal, if you will." Ghost held out a gloved hand for the items, Alex didn't even move.

"Alex, I have a coin in my back pocket… it's a dime, just give it to him!" Max pleaded with his sister. She could feel his fear for her. She shushed her brother soothingly and answered Ghost with as much bravery as she could gather, "I have no idea what you're talking about…"

Ghost took a step back and breathed deeply, "That is unfortunate. I suppose I'll have to provide some incentive for you to oblige me then." Alex closed her eyes, waiting for him to strike her again, but Ghost had moved swiftly over to Jack and whispered something she could not hear. He nodded once and with a swish of his wand, Jack had vanished.

"Take your seat, Miss Russo," Ghost hissed at Alex. She obeyed and sat on the edge of the chair. She groped for her wand, but remembered that Jack had taken it. Ghost chuckled slightly and said attentively, "I do enjoy brave children. They never give up…" he stepped around their house, observing the cracked pictures and broken vases. Justin leaned over in his seat and asked Alex, "Are you okay?" Alex only nodded, and hushed him before he could ask her about the coin.

_Crack!_ Jack had popped back on the stairs, causing all three of the Russos to jump. "They're on their way boss, Spider has them in tow," he reported.

Ghost tapped his fingers together before replying absently, "Good, good. I suppose they'll need somewhere to be put… ah, this should do." He had stationed the two remaining chairs facing Alex, Justin, and Max. Alex felt her heart skip a beat.

"I think it best this be a silent exchange," Ghost told them. He slashed his wand and Alex felt duct tape on her mouth, appearing out of nowhere. She looked sideways at her brothers and saw that they too had the tape over their lips. Justin looked murderous, but remained silent. Alex heard Max's muffled, "Hey!" and some other words she couldn't make sense of.

"Look ahead now, children. I have a surprise for you." Ghost whispered to them in mock excitement.

Alex saw the figures of two people fading into the chairs. Before they had completely materialized, she heard Justin's stifled, "No!"

There in the chairs before them sat Jerry and Theresa, also bound and gagged. _Mom…Dad…_Alex thought, tears springing to her eyes. The second they saw their children they immediately began to shout and struggle against their bonds.

Ghost strode over to Theresa and caressed her hair, looking at Alex. "Let's see if we can make some progress, shall we?"

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A/N #2: So just a side note about the names of the "bad guys". I am feeling very spirited for Halloween, it's my favorite holiday. So these code names are just Halloween-y stuff! "Jack" is for jack-o-lantern, or the Pumpkin King =D (and I don't own Nightmare Before Christmas either, what point is there in life?! Lol)


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Okay, this chapter was a ^!&*$ to write LOL. I rewrote it a whole mess of times, and I'm still not that happy with it. But hopefully after this it'll be much easier to write, since I'm hoping to wrap it up soon. Please read and REVIEW!!! :D

Thanks to all of you who have reviewed, all of you are so incredibly amazing. Your reviews make me happy times infinity!

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It took all of Alex's energy not to scream, not to speak, not to _breathe_ while Ghost circled her parents. On her right, she could hear Max's shaky breaths. He was acting so tough, so brave for his family. He hadn't said a word or made a sound as Jerry and Theresa materialized in front of them. On her left, she could feel the anger and tension radiating off of Justin. She glanced sideways and saw his unwavering narrowed eyes. His jaw was clenched shut and the muscles in his neck were quivering.

"Miss Russo," Alex jerked her head up, "we will try again. You will hand my associate," Ghost waved carelessly to something behind her.

A man with a mask identical to Ghost and Jacks' appeared at her right shoulder, and whispered, "Boo" in her ear. Alex suppressed a shudder.

"…the coin and amethyst. Now." He kept his voice very even and calm.

Alex lifted her chin up in defiance and kept her mouth shut. She didn't know what the strange piece of metal still hidden in her jeans pocket meant, but if Ghost wanted it, it must be important.

Ghost walked two steps towards her with his head bowed. He heaved a great sigh and then spun around, slicing his wand through the air. Both Jerry and Theresa screamed out in pain as deep cuts appeared on their faces. All the Russo children shrieked, "Mom, Dad!"

Alex leapt up from her chair and shoved Ghost from behind, "Stop it!" she screamed at him. Spider had bounded over her chair after her and caught her wrists to prevent her from clawing his boss. He yanked her back as Ghost rotated slowly to face Alex. The creepy leer on the mask did nothing to help Alex's nerves.

"I take it you are ready to cooperate now?" he asked quietly.

Alex exhaled sharply and nodded her head. Jerry and Theresa, both panting heavily, started shaking their heads and shouting their muffled protests. Ghost chuckled arrogantly and Alex held up her hand.

"On one condition," she said boldly.

Ghost stiffened and hissed, "I do not negotiate with little girls!"

"Yo, Ghost…" Spider spoke up behind Alex, "Why don't we just take them from her?" he asked dully.

Ghost slowly answered, "We are trying to keep this as civilized as possible.."

Alex was shocked when it was Justin who made a scoffing noise in disbelief. Spider dropped Alex's arms and turned around to face Justin, who stared up at him eyes filled with disgust.

"Got something to say, punk?" Spider leaned down close to Justin's face.

He nodded defiantly. "Muunh. Muu." Justin had groaned two words out, and even though they were stifled, Alex was pretty sure she knew what they were. She smirked for the tiniest fraction of a second before it was Justin's turn to get backhanded. The force of Spider's slap, however, almost knocked Justin and his chair to the ground.

"Justin!" Alex cried out, as she tried to rush forward. But it was Ghost this time who took hold of her arms. He whirled her around to face him and once again she found herself staring into the arctic-blue eyes. They were now throwing daggers.

"Enough! I'm tired of waiting. Give me the coin and necklace. NOW!" he spat out, just inches away from Alex's face.

She flinched as he screamed out the last word, but kept her brave face on. "I want my family out of here. I want them to be safe."

Ghost tapped a finger to his masked chin and tilted his head up in thought for a fraction of a second.

"No deal. I think I prefer bloodying your parents to a pulp until you beg me to take the items off your hands." Ghost replied sharply. He turned again to face Alex's parents, but she stepped in front of them, arms out wide.

"No! Please, don't. Here, I'll- I'll give you the necklace first, but then please just let my family go." She knew that tears would not help her gain this man's sympathy, but they threatened to spill out anyways.

Jerry and Theresa continued to object vehemently, but Alex paid them no heed. Ghost's eyes bore into Alex's and finally said evenly, "Fine." Then without another word he held out his gloved hand for the necklace. But Alex pushed it away.

"I need your word that you will release them as soon as I hand over the necklace," Ghost opened his mouth to retort when Alex cut him off, "No, I need your word. Magically."

Ghost heaved a sigh and said hurriedly, "Fine, fine. Let's just move this along. Jack, her wand." Jack scurried over and produced Alex's wand from his sleeve. She took it from him and raised it to Ghost. Alex knew that she was no match for this man magically, so she decided not to try anything stupid that could get her or her family killed. Ghost too raised his wand and said the spell:

**Until this day has passed**

**Until this day has gone,**

**There will not be a single thing**

**That shall break this bond:**

**I swear to release the Russos from my control after I receive the amethyst necklace that Alex Russo has in her possession. **

Alex was satisfied with the spell and after a moment of silence between them, she sighed and reached down into her shoe to tug out the crystal. It sparkled and twirled in midair as she held it out before everyone to see. A million thoughts were racing through her head but the only one she focused on was the one that involved getting her family, all of them, safe. She exhaled sharply and let the amethyst drop into Ghost's hand. He wound it around his hand and stashed it in his suit pocket.

Before he could utter a word, Alex said, "Now my family. Let. Them. Go." She articulated every syllable with a commanding air, one that made Ghost chuckle mirthlessly.

He spoke to Jack and Spider, "Isn't she just a little spitfire? All right, my dear. A promise is a promise. Spider, release them. Jack, give them their wands back."

Though she couldn't see their expressions behind the masks, Alex was sure that incredulity flitted across their eyes. A moment's hesitation was spent before they obeyed their orders. The second Justin was released from his confines, he dashed over to Alex and took her by the shoulders, "What are you doing? Why did you bring that here? You can't give it to him!"

"I know what I'm doing, Justin. Take Mom and Dad and Max home," she begged him with her eyes, praying that for just once, he would listen to her. Max was next to be cut from his bonds, and he was at Justin's side in a heartbeat. He looked so small in his fear.

"What are you going to do?" Max whispered.

"Trust me, bro," Alex managed to force a smile to her lips as she ruffled his hair. Justin was about to interject when Jerry and Theresa were cut loose. Jack and Spider kept their wands pointed at all of them, careful of their movements. They ignored the wands in their faces and sprinted over to their children, grabbing them all into an awkward hug of tangled arms. Alex was caught right in the middle and let out a little _oof!_ from the impact. She giggled though, and tried to get her hands around her mother's neck. They shared a few seconds of warm relief and love before Ghost got bored.

"Ah, isn't love just superbly grand?" he asked mockingly. "Now Russos, go. I have other business to attend to with your daughter."

Theresa turned her head back to Alex, eyes brimming with tears. "No, no. I'm not leaving you here alone with him," she shot Ghost the dirtiest look she could muster.

Alex could see the dried blood from the cuts on her mother's face, and knew she was doing the right thing. "Mom, it's okay. I know what I'm doing."

Theresa shook her head and clutched onto Alex's arm with an iron grip. She was horribly reminded of that night when Ghost and his crew first broke into their house. Only this time, it would be Alex fighting for her family. She looked to her father for help. "Dad, really. You need to go. I have everything under control." She gave him a little wink and Jerry looked at the rest of his family before sighing and smiling back.

"Theresa, we have to go. Alex will be just fine." He pried Theresa's hands from Alex's arm.

"Dad! What are you talking about?" Justin whispered angrily, "We are not leaving her here!"

Ghost's voice cut through the argued whispering, "This is ridiculous. Russos, you need to leave. Now!"

Alex jumped at his voice, but then started to push her family behind her. Max hesitated, fingers brushing the back of her hand. She squeezed his hand briefly, but then slid away. Jerry and Theresa were hugging each other; or rather Jerry was holding Theresa to keep her from jumping at Alex.

"Justin, come on," he said, "You have to be the one to get us home."

Justin remained rooted in his spot beside Alex. He was staring at her with confusion. She turned to him and willed herself not to cry, "Justin. Go." She tried to push him towards the rest of her family. He wouldn't budge.

"I said… Leave now," Ghost said in a warning voice as he approached the two siblings. He reached for Alex but Justin stepped in front of her. Jack and Spider raised their wands to remind him that he shouldn't try anything funny.

"Don't. Don't you touch her," Justin whispered in an equally dangerous tone. Alex spotted Jack and Spider's twitching fingers and motioned for her father to come get him. Jerry came and took Justin by the arm.

"Come on, son," he whispered in his ear. "Give your sister a chance, yeah?" Then he muttered something Alex couldn't catch.

After what seemed like minutes of silence, Justin finally sighed and nodded. Then his arms shot out and brought in Alex for a hug. _Oof!_ she said for the second time that day. _Sheesh, my family loves too much…_

Through the mass of her hair though, she caught what Justin was whispering to her. "I will be right back for you. I promise."

The tears were on the brink now, nothing could stop them for much longer. She pulled away nodding slightly. Then Alex gave him the best smile she could, anything to try and reassure him. Justin finally let Jerry tug him back to join the rest of his family. Justin never took his eyes off of Alex when he said the spell:

**Our freedom is what**

**This man had to give**

**Take us back **

**To where we now live**

They disappeared with a _pop!_ and Alex could've sworn she saw Justin's eyes watering. Squeezing her eyes shut briefly, she turned around to face the three grown men all by herself. She'd be lying to say that she wasn't scared. She was terrified. And these men probably knew it, but she was able to keep her face calm as she addressed them.

"What does the coin do?" she asked hurriedly before Ghost could intimidate her some more. She needed to keep him talking and the other two distracted.

"Please, Miss Russo. I have no time. Just hand it over," he said with boredom in his voice. He wasn't going to buy it, but Alex knew how to get under someone's skin.

She laughed straight in his face and said, "You don't even know, do you? Well that's pretty sad, going through all this trouble caused by little old me, to get something you don't know anything about. I guess you're not important enough or someth-"

"Alright little girl, you've reached my last nerve," Ghost strode forward and took Alex's arm, wiping the smirk right from her face. "You certainly are the comical one, aren't you? Rather stupid, too," Alex's eyes flashed in anger, "You just don't know when to shut up. There will be plenty of time for a history lesson later, since we'll be spending a lot of time with each other…"

"Wait, what?" Alex felt her heart accelerate.

Ghost gave a high-pitched, evil chuckle, "Oh my dear, you didn't actually believe I would just let you go after all the trouble you've caused me? Your family is one thing, I have no use for them and now that I have the pendant, they will no longer be a threat to me. But you," he leaned in close to Alex's face and tilted his head a little, giving the mask an even more eerie appearance, "you will be coming back with me. My superior will need an explanation for all this mayhem and you will be the one to supply it."

Flashing warning signs were going off behind Alex's eyes. Panic started to rise in her throat and all she could think was, _HavetogetawayHavetogetawayHavetogetaway…_

Her eyes darted around the room to where Spider and Jack were now lounging; wands limp by their sides. But it didn't matter because Ghost saw she was looking for a way out and whipped his wand up to her throat.

"Don't even think about it. As soon as I have the coin secure in my possession we'll be leaving. Now give it here so we can be off," he said indifferently.

Alex's brain was reeling. She still had her wand, but before she could even raise it, Ghost would have probably killed her. She could try stepping on his feet like she did Jack or hitting him, but she still wouldn't be fast enough. Jack and Spider would catch her before she could say a spell. With a resigned sigh, Alex started to reach for the coin in her pocket. She was about to pluck it out when everyone's attention shifted upwards at the huge crash that echoed down to them. Ghost snapped his fingers and both Jack and Spider scrambled up the stairs, wands now tight in their hands. Alex's brief moment of relief was replaced with panic as she realized that Justin really had come back for her.

Ghost immediately turned his wand back on Alex, who just stared at him. They both listened to the slight scuffling and muffled sounds of voices. Her heartbeat was dangerously high, and her body started to shake. Finally all sounds stopped except for footsteps on the stairwell. Alex didn't want to look but her eyes glanced over as she saw Jack's figure appear, mask a little askew and rubbing his knuckles.

Ghost, still staring at Alex, asked, "Problem?"

"Just the Russo boy, he gave us a little bit of a fight but Spider's got him under control upstairs," he replied gruffly. Alex gasped in defeat and let tears spill onto the floor.

"Well, tell Spider to kill the boy. Make sure to tell him it was because of his foolish bravery that he dies," Ghost said carelessly.

Alex's hands clenched into fists. Her entire body started to convulse. Her rage could not be contained. She put her head down and threw herself at Ghost. She could hear the wind being sucked from his body, and heard him sputter and cough as they both toppled to the ground. Alex moaned in frustration as she saw that Ghost's wand was still secure in his hand. She tried to crawl away, wondering when Jack would come to scoop her up. But it was Ghost's hand that found it's way to Alex's long hair and yanked.

She cried out and tried to reach up, clawing at whatever she could get. He reached down and tugged Alex's wand from her gasp, tossing it aside. Ghost's voice was full of anger now as he shouted, "Little wretch! You have to make things so difficult!" He dragged her to a sitting position and pointed his wand right at her face.

"Now I will kill you, and take the coin myself!" he raised his wand and opened his mouth. Alex screwed her eyes tight, and thought of her family one last time. She waited for death to come and take her away from the pain and fear. And unless Justin could figure a way out, he would be joining her soon. That gave her the tiniest bit of comfort as she waited and waited; but the words of Ghost's spell never came. Instead she heard a dull thud, then a shout. And then came another heavy clunk. Alex peeked out of one eye to see what happened.

There on the floor by her feet was Ghost, seemingly unconscious. She raised her head to see Jack standing over him, holding a chair slightly above the ground. Alex was thoroughly confused, but this was the creepy guy who had stroked her leg in a way that made her shudder. She started to inch away from him as he walked towards her. She started thrashing her arms and screamed, "No! Get away!"

He reached up to pull of his mask and Alex screamed louder. She flipped over to her knees, fighting to get to her feet and run to her wand, which was on the other side of the room. All of a sudden, two strong hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. She crashed into his chest and heard him yell, "No, Alex stop!"

She leapt back with a fist cocked but saw it was Justin there, not Jack, standing in the trench coat. Her hands immediately flew to her mouth as she gasped. They both rushed forward at the same time. Alex's arms wrapped around Justin's neck, as he enveloped her tiny torso. She choked out a sob and he buried his head in the space between her neck and shoulder.

She pulled back and asked breathlessly, "What happened to your voice? You sound exactly like him." Justin kept his head bowed and pulled his wand out of the trench coat pocket. He muttered some spell and the light from the tip of his wand sped to his throat. He cleared his throat and said, "Sorry about that."

"Where are the other two?" Alex asked shakily, glancing towards the stairs.

"They're tied up in my room. I transported back here and knocked over my dresser so they would come up. I hid in my closet and then hit them with a couple spells. Then I took that guy Jack's coat and mask and changed my voice." He started to walk over to the television, where Alex's wand had been thrown. He picked it up and handed it back to Alex.

She let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. She nearly collapsed from all the emotion she was feeling. Justin slid an arm around her waist and let hers slack over his shoulder. She asked quietly, "Can we go home now?"

"Yeah. Oh, but wait… the necklace!" Justin said, pausing at Ghost's passed out body on the floor.

"No, don't bother. The one he has is a copy. I made it before we left this morning," she grinned at her brilliance, "Just in case."

Justin exhaled sharply in disbelief and looked at her, "You are some kind of amazing, you know that?" He pulled out his wand to transport them back to their family.

Alex quickly looked around the rest of the house, passing her eyes once again over Ghost's body, then noticed the chair that was next to him, remembering that Justin had held it.

"Did you knock him out with a chair?" she asked incredulously.

Justin smiled sheepishly and answered, "Yeah."

Alex started laughing uncontrollably. "You're some kind of amazing too."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey guys, I know you must be tired of waiting for me to update. Sorry :[[ As a reward for being so loyal though, how about some Justin/Alex fluff?!? (Again, only as brother/sister) Well get going and READ!!! And please review, for they are like oreos and milk to me! =D

Disclaimer: Check it, I don't have dibs on WOWPizzle. Fasho. ;]

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Alex let out a breath of relief and felt a huge weight from her shoulders lift as she and Justin appeared back at the warehouse. She barely caught a glimpse at her mother holding Max on the couch, smoothing his hair, and her father pacing the floor before they all jumped up and tackled both her and Justin. Excited gasps and joyous laughter filled the air as the Russo family fell over each other, hugging anybody they could get to.

Alex beamed at her family as the chuckles died out and they all sat upright. She had expected her father to round on her and scream at her for being so stupid to give up the necklace. But he was wearing a smile that stretched from ear to ear with watery eyes. Theresa had been sobbing uncontrollably the second Justin and Alex popped back into the warehouse. Now she was trying to catch her breath and had her arm latched around Max's neck. He was grinning goofily and for once didn't mind the affection that his mother was giving him.

"I never thought I'd say this Alex, but I'm so happy to see you," he cried out.

Alex ruffled his hair in the annoying way she knew he hated, but he just wouldn't stop smiling. Jerry climbed to his feet tiredly and offered a hand to his wife. Theresa relinquished her hold on Max and took it, lifting herself from the ground. Max, Justin, and Alex all stood as well, brushing themselves off and smoothing their clothing. Jerry strode over to Alex and held onto her shoulders, "I love you. And I'm so happy that we're all together again; but you shouldn't have given him the pendant." He smiled a little sadly at his statement.

Alex let her mouth twitch into a smirk as she retorted victoriously, "I didn't. Ghost only has the copy of the necklace that I made."

Jerry's eyes bugged in disbelief, but then wrapped his daughter in their own hug.

Max interjected the warm and comfortable silence with the question that had been lingering on the Russo children's minds. "So, what happened to you guys?"

Theresa shoved all three of them towards the couch as she went to the kitchen to make some tea and hot cocoa for everyone. Jerry sat in one of the armchairs facing his children. He told them how Ghost and his goons had found them and captured them only seconds after the three of them had left. They had been knocked unconscious after they refused to tell him where the necklace was. When they had woken up, they had no idea where they were. It was like a medieval dungeon, as Jerry described. Then he told the kids that he and Theresa waited while they were held there, not knowing anything about what was going on. Jerry ended the story with what had happened today, materializing in front of their children.

Justin suspected that Jerry was limiting his description of what happened in the dungeon for Alex and Max's sake. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to know. Jerry saw the shocked expressions on his children's faces and quickly changed the subject.

"So, the last time I came here to set everything up, it was just a warehouse…" Jerry eyed Alex suspiciously.

She threw her hands up in the air, "Oh so just because everything is fancy now, it's my fault?" she screeched.

Jerry chuckled and replied, "Well, isn't it?"

Alex folded her arms over her chest and tried to shrink herself back into the cushions of the couch as she mumbled, "Maybe."

Theresa came back with the drinks and shooed Justin out of the spot next to Alex so she could sit down. She draped an arm over Alex's shoulders, squeezing her close. "I think it's fabulous. I told your father if we had to live here that I wouldn't last long on a couple drops of water for showers and the pieces of cloth he called beds would be bad for his back," she whispered. Alex giggled and snuggled in closer to her mom. Max leaned on Alex's shoulder and wrapped his arm around Alex's torso as Theresa told Alex how brave she was and how proud of her she was. Jerry motioned silently for Justin to go to the kitchen with him. Justin tore his eyes away from the rare show of affection in their family and followed his father.

Jerry looked back and smiled before turning to his son. He clasped a hand on his shoulder and said quietly, "Thank you, for taking care of them. I knew you would. It's really comforting to know that if anything ever did happen to us, you'll be there for your family. You make me so proud, son." Before Justin could reply nonchalantly, like it was no big deal, Jerry had pulled him in for a quick man-hug. With two short pats on the back he released Justin, who kept his head bowed.

"Dad, I- I was really scared, though," Justin whispered back, letting himself be vulnerable for once. "I didn't know how much longer I could handle it, keep my head, you know?"

"That's okay, Justin. It's okay to be scared. I was terrified! But the point is, you love your family enough to try. And that means everything," he offered Justin a smile, which Justin returned. With one more clap on the shoulder, they exited the kitchen to rejoin their family.

In the two minutes they were in the kitchen, both Max and Alex had fallen asleep, both leaning on their mother who was stroking Alex's hair. Jerry chuckled slightly and went to shake Max's shoulder. Justin realized that he too was exhausted. A glance at his watch told him it was only 1:32. They had left that morning at 10:00ish, he guessed. But the emotions from the day; fear, worry, anger, hatred, they all started to settle in and were wearing him out.

Jerry was guiding Max's dragging feet to his bedroom. Theresa whispered to Alex, making her stir. Alex, still groggy, awoke and planted a quick kiss on Theresa's cheek before shuffling off to her room. Theresa stifled a yawn as she started to clean up the mugs, but Justin stopped her.

"Mom, I got it. Go ahead and get some sleep," he said softly. Theresa smiled gratefully and patted Justin's arm. Then wordlessly, she went to find her husband.

Justin swiftly gathered up the cups, all of them still half-full with tea and hot chocolate, and brought them into the kitchen. He emptied the contents and rinsed the dishes out, lining them up in the dishwasher. He kicked the door shut and looked around. The place was now comfortably quiet and seemed like any other house. He felt so tired, but thought he should check on Alex first.

He tiptoed over to the door that Alex had already personalized with pink frilly things, glad to see that it was cracked open. He pushed it forward with his fingertips and observed Alex's sleeping form rising and falling on her bed. She hadn't bothered to dress in her pajamas, or even to turn down the bed. She slept on her stomach, and her feet were dangling over the edge of the bed. Justin chuckled at the realization that she must have collapsed onto the bed and instantly fallen asleep. He was about to leave when he heard a noise come from Alex that was somewhat like a whimper. Frowning, Justin strained his ears. Alex groaned a little in her sleep. _Is she having a nightmare?_ he wondered to himself.

He walked silently over and removed her sneakers, and her wand that was hidden near the hem of her jeans. Then as gently as possible, Justin lifted her legs fully onto the bed. He grabbed a blanket that was draped over the foot of her bed and laid it out over his sister. Justin looked back once more at Alex's face, which would screw up into an emotion he couldn't figure out, then smoothing out again. He rested his hand on her head for a couple of seconds before turning to leave.

"Justin?" Alex rasped quietly. Justin winced and turned back to her, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Sorry I woke you up," he whispered back.

Alex shook her head and pulled herself up in a sitting position. The blanket fell from her shoulders and she looked down at it. "Did you give me this?" she gestured at the fleecy material.

"Yeah, now go back to sleep!" he whispered.

Alex looked like she was about to lay her head back down when her phone buzzed from the nightstand. She reached for it and opened it up, reading the text that just came for her. Justin was about to launch into a speech, reprimanding Alex for talking to people from back home, telling her it's dangerous and could be a means for the evil wizards to find them and whatnot. His words caught in his throat though, when Alex furrowed her eyebrows and let her eyes droop in sadness. She snapped the phone shut and tossed it on the nightstand, hugging her knees close to her body.

"Alex, wha-?" Justin started.

"That was Harper. She's left me forty-seven text messages and thirteen voicemails since we came here," Alex said, staring at her knees blankly. Justin just stared at her with wide eyes.

"But it's whatever you know? Harper will get over it. I know I will," Alex scoffed. She finally looked up at Justin, who now had skepticism written all over his face.

"Alex, you don't have to do that, you know," he told her softly.

"Oh? And what am I supposed to do? Cry and whine for my best friend? Tell Mom and Dad how the big bad man scared me? That's not what I do, okay? That's what little girls do… and you."

Justin shot her a quick glare before answering her, "You still are a little girl, Alex. But if you want to pretend like everything's fine then go ahead. Just remember that I know you so much better than that. And if you want to talk about how not talking to Harper and not being able to explain to her everything that's going on is killing you inside, I'm right here."

"You are way too smart for your own good. No wonder you can't hold down a girlfriend; they must get so annoyed when you tell them exactly what they're thinking," Alex teased lightly. Justin chuckled a little bit at the compliment/insult. "But, thank you," she whispered.

"No problem." Justin started to stand, but Alex caught his wrist.

"And… not just for the Harper thing," she exhaled sharply, "Thank you for taking care of us; Max and me. You really kept your cool, you know? Even if it was just for a couple of days," she winked at him.

Justin scoffed in an amazing resemblance to Alex as he stared off at one of her walls. "Pfft. That was no big deal."

Alex gave Justin's wrist a squeeze, which brought his attention back to her. "If you want to pretend like everything was fine, go ahead. Just remember that I know you so much better than that. And if you want to talk about how scared you were that Mom and Dad were gone, and how you didn't know whether you could keep up your responsibly image for much longer, I'm right here," she grinned at Justin, mimicking his earlier speech.

Justin's eyes brightened and he returned the smile, laughing a little at his sister. He gave her a one-armed hug and whispered, "Thanks" in her ear. "Now get some sleep, you must be exhausted." Alex nodded hurriedly and wriggled underneath her covers.

Justin strode over to the door and was about to pull it shut when a thought struck him. "Oh, and Alex?"

She looked up from arranging herself in the queen-sized bed and waited for him to go on.

"Don't ever do that again," Justin said sternly.

Alex frowned and tilted her head in confusion. "What?" she asked in puzzlement.

"Make me leave you," he replied simply.

He closed her door softly, and Alex smiled ; she knew that she wouldn't be having any nightmares tonight.

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A/N take 2: So I know I switched point of view a little bit here. Sorry if that's annoying for anyone! For the people who hate author notes, you can stop reading right here! For those of you who don't mind, read on to discover my thoughts on the brother/sister relationship of Alex and Justin!

So I was thinking to myself the other day, "Why am I so fascinated with brother/sister relationships?" Well it's because I sadly do not have any brothers and I really really really really wish I did! I guess I just love how protective they are, in that extremely annoying way =D Alas, I shall never have a brother. Oh well! I'll shall write out my frustrations through this story… Stay tuned for another chapter coming soon!


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